


Dream Drop Memories

by Animechick247



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-10-11 21:31:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17454671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animechick247/pseuds/Animechick247
Summary: *Sequel to A Trail of Memories 2* With Xehanort plotting his next move, Hikari, Riku and Sora must take the Mark of Mastery exam to prove they have what it takes to stop him. However Hikari gets more than what she bargained for when a Mysterious Figure keeps following her and she keeps seeing Lumen in her dreams. How is a girl supposed to save everyone when so many obstacles keep getting in her way?





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Ready or Not Here We Come

A/N: Hello everyone! Welcome to Dream Drop Memories! I know this series has had a few issues lately but I wanted to at least give it one more chance. I know there’s a lot of readers who enjoyed this series and I felt like I was being unfair with what I said last time so I’m giving it one more shot for you guys! And with what I’ve seen in the Kingdom Hearts 3 trailers, I felt like I really do need to finish off this series because who knows what’s gonna happen at the end of this.  
So sit back and enjoy this new version of Dream Drop Memories!  
And as always, I don’t own Kingdom Hearts, I just own my oc’s.  
Enjoy!  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

A king’s life was never easy. When one task was completed, another one would make itself known. Such is the fate that was placed before King Mickey.  
After the fall of Organization XIII, the King found himself with more loose links than he originally thought he had-or rather loose pages. It seemed that the journals Jiminy Cricket used to chronicle Sora and Hikari’s journey carried more than just his words-they carried another’s. After decoding the clues that the journal left, the King realized that he found a clue that would help him with a task he had going on for a long time…fourteen years to be exact.  
With this new information in hand, he quickly rushed to his old mentor, Yen Sid to tell him what he had learned.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The old wizard looked at the journal Mickey decoded and read the once sentence that started this search.

Their hurting will mend when you return to end it. 

There was no doubt in the wizard’s mind who those harmed souls were. Even after fourteen years it still pained Yen Sid that Xehanort would stoop so low as to destroy four innocent souls for his ambitions.

Terra, Aqua, Ven and Lumen were four innocent children that got caught up in Xehanort’s web of darkness and destruction. Each suffered a painful fate and each soul was left in pieces. All this time Mickey and Yen Sid wondered where they were and how they could save them. It seemed now that they had a lead.  
“Yen Sid, I think we’re finally close to figuring out where Ven’s heart is” Mickey said.  
Yen Sid rubbed his chin in thought. Ventus’s fate was rather complex. While Aqua was trapped within the Realm of Darkness and Terra’s soul was stuck within the Keyblade Graveyard, Ven’s whereabouts were unknown. And of course, there was Lumen whose fate was probably the saddest of the four.  
“Is that so?” he asked.  
“Then that leaves only Terra and Lumen”  
Mickey nodded eagerly, knowing that they were getting closer to finding their lost friends.  
“Right, we’ve got to save all four of them” he said.  
“And this one clue that I found in the journal might lead us to them”  
He turned the page that contained the clue to how they would rescue them. Yen Sid looked at the page and felt the air leave his lungs.

Her slumbering will cease when you bring her back together.

Yen Sid closed his eyes gravely. After Terra lost his body to Xehanort, Lumen went after him, hoping to save the man she loved. Sadly, Xehanort got the best of her and nearly managed to steal her heart. Knowing what he planned to do with it, Lumen made the ultimate sacrifice and shattered her heart into pieces and hid them within four other hearts before she went into a deep slumber.  
The whereabouts of her body and heart were a mystery to Mickey and Yen Sid…that is until now.  
“Do you think it’s talking about Lumen?” Mickey asked.  
Yen Sid nodded as he clasped his fingers together.  
“There is no doubt in my mind that tells me it is her” he said.  
“It seemed Lumen was very meticulous about her demise. Knowing her fate, she must have made sure that in order to save her we needed to save those three as well”  
Mickey tilted his head in confusion.  
“What do you mean?”  
Yen Sid closed his eyes, thinking of the complex situation Lumen put herself through.  
“Much like Ventus’s situation, in order for him to awaken he must have his heart returned” he explained.  
“In Lumen’s case she needs all of the pieces of her heart returned to her if she is to ever awaken. Finding those pieces would be complicated if you don’t know where they’re hiding. However, knowing Lumen, she placed them within hearts that need to be found”  
Mickey’s eyes widen in realization.  
“You don’t mean- “  
Yen Sid nodded.  
“Yes, Lumen hid her heart within Terra, Aqua and Ven. She knew they needed to be found so in order to save her we have to save them first”  
Mickey started to put the pieces together as his mentor spoke.  
“And if we look for Lumen’s heart, then that will lead us to Ven’s as well!”  
Yen Sid nodded. With the way Lumen set this up, they would be killing two birds with one stone.  
“Correct. All the hearts are linked to one another. If we find one piece of Lumen’s heart it’ll lead us to the others”  
Mickey’s face fell realizing that they didn’t have part of Lumen’s heart. Without one of the pieces, there was no way for them to find Terra, Aqua or Ven. Just when they got one step closer to saving them, it brought them one step back from making it happen.  
“How do we accomplish that when we don’t have a piece that will lead us?” he asked.  
Yen Sid rubbed his beard in thought. That was a problem indeed, however…  
“Perhaps that piece has been within our grasps this whole time? Being right under our noses without us ever realizing that it was there” he muttered.  
Mickey looked at his mentor in confusion.  
“What do you mean?”  
Yen Sid ignored him, pondering over something else that was bothering him for some time. Back to when Xehanort let his plans unfold.  
“The question that ponders me is this: does Xehanort know of this as well?”  
Mickey jumped a little at the mention of that name. Why would he be involved when he was gone?  
“Xehanort? But his two halves are gone” he insisted.  
“There was Ansem, who commanded the Heartless…and Xemnas, who commanded the Nobodies. Didn’t Sora and Hikari defeat them both?”  
“Correct, those two met their end” Yen Sid said.  
“However, therein lies the problem. Their destruction now guarantees the original Xehanort’s reconstruction”  
Mickey paled a little, not liking where this was going.  
“How can that be?” he asked.  
Yen Sid looked at his student gravely. Even though he had learned so much since being an apprentice, there was still much he had to learn.  
“Xehanort’s heart, once seized by his heartless half, is now free. And his body, which had become his Nobody, has been vanquished” he explained.  
“Both halves will now return to the whole. In short…this means Master Xehanort will return”  
Mickey’s heart stopped within his chest. The thought of that mad man returning made him shiver. He made so many people suffer the last time he tried to gain power over Kingdom Hearts.  
“And you think…you think maybe he’s going to try something?”  
Yen Sid nodded, already knowing that Xehanort was up to something despite not physically being there.  
“A man like Xehanort will have left many roads open” he said.  
“And I’m sure one of those paths lead to finding Lumen’s location”  
Mickey shook his head. He wasn’t able to save those four in the past, but he would not let Xehanort find them. And he wasn’t alone this time either.  
“Well, it doesn’t matter what he cooks up!” he said.  
“Me, Sora, and Hikari, we’ll be ready-and Riku too!”  
Yen Sid smirked a little thinking of those three. Despite being thrown into this mess, they proved that they could handle it and were willing to keep the worlds safe.  
However, that wasn’t enough.  
“Yes, they are indeed strong. But…not true Keyblade Masters, like you” he reasoned.  
He looked at his student seriously.  
“Tell me…would a single one of you suffice if what you faced was not a single one of him”  
Mickey looked at his mentor in confusion. More than one Xehanort?  
“What do you mean?”  
Yen Sid ignored him as he stood up. He already had an idea of how to deal with Xehanort and to see if he could find that one piece of Lumen’s heart that was within their grasp. It was a risky gamble, but time was running out.  
“Mickey, please summon Sora and Hikari hither. Riku as well” he ordered.  
Mickey looked at Yen Sid, wondering why he suddenly wanted them here.  
“Of course, but…why?”  
Yen Sid looked at him gravely.  
“To show us the Mark of Mastery”  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Hikari looked around to see herself within a crystal cave. It looked familiar and yet at the same time it didn’t.  
“Where am I? This place almost looks like the outer areas of Radiant Garden” she said to herself.  
Despite not knowing where she was, she felt like she knew where to go. Taking one step after another she walked deeper within the cave, the crystals acting like little natural lights.  
The whole cave gave off this sad, lonely vibe as if there was a soul trapped within its walls.  
As she walked, she could have sworn she heard someone calling out to her.  
‘Help me, Hikari. You have to help me’  
Fearing that someone was in trouble, she started sprinting, trying to find the owner of the voice.  
“Where are you? What’s wrong?”  
As she kept running she heard the voice calling to her over and over again.  
‘You have to help me, Hikari”  
She kept running until she finally made it to chamber deep within the cave. The whole room was filled with crystals, making the area glow with its natural light.  
However, that wasn’t the only thing that was within the chamber. Standing near one of the bigger chunks of crystals was someone Hikari knew-someone who made her into what she was today.  
Lumen wore a sad look upon her face as a tear rolled down her face.  
“You have to help me save them, Hikari. You’re the only one who can find them” she said.  
Hikari took a step back, shocked by what she was seeing.  
“W-what are you talking about? Who do you want me to find?”  
Lumen didn’t answer her. Instead, she held her hand out and had chains made of light spring out from her. The chains flew forward and went into Hikari’s heart. The keyblade mistress looked in alarm as she saw chains coming out of her chest.  
“What are you doing to me?! Let me go!”  
Lumen lowered her hand, looking at the ring sadly that was resting on her finger.  
“It has to be you, Hikari” she said.  
“Please end our suffering”  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“AHHHHH!!!!!!”  
Hikari jumped from her seat and breathed heavily. Patting her chest, she was relived to feel that there were no chains protruding from her. However, she still felt them as if they were still there.  
Sora and Riku looked at her worriedly as she tried to regain her breath.  
“You okay, Hikari?” Sora asked.  
Hikari gave him a weak smile and nodded.  
“Just a crazy dream” she insisted.  
Sora made a face before sitting back in his seat. They were currently on their way to see Yen Sid at the request of the King.  
Hikari sighed as she slumped in her seat. That dream was weird yet intense at the same time. She knew who that woman was in the cave. It was a very long time since she saw that face, but she would never forget it. She had only met Lumen once long ago as a child, but that one encounter changed her fate forever. Having decided she found a worthy successor, Lumen performed the Keyblade ceremony with Hikari, and granted her the powers to use the Keyblade. It was thanks to that one meeting that she was able to be who she was today.  
She never saw Lumen after that day, and yet she felt like she did somehow.  
That dream however felt anything but one. She knew she had never been inside a cave full of crystals, but it felt like had. That chamber felt familiar, the pathway felt like she had walked down there, she could recall what certain colors the crystals looked. Why did it seem so familiar to her?  
Better yet, what did Lumen want from her? She said she needed to help her find the others, but who were these other ones?  
She was pulled out of her musings when she felt Riku’s hand on her shoulder. The poor boy looked worried as he saw his girlfriend’s troubled expression.  
“You okay?” he asked.  
Hikari smiled weakly.  
“I’m fine. Just a bad dream…or at least I think it was”  
Riku looked at her sadly before he pulled her close.  
“Think it was one of your memories?”  
Hikari shook her head and she nuzzled closer to him.  
“I don’t think so. It didn’t feel like a memory, but I felt like I knew about it”  
“Wonder if its caused by stress over what King Mickey told us”  
Riku flinched a little.  
Mickey had sent them a letter explaining that Xehanort might have returned and that he needed them to see Yen Sid urgently. Just the thought of that wretched man returning made his skin crawl. That evil wretched man scared their hearts and almost destroyed their lives. He almost made Riku one of his vessels while he tried to take Hikari’s and Kairi’s hearts to open the Door to Darkness. It was one of the reasons why Riku cut his hair short, he wanted a fresh start in life and wanted to sever his past regarding Xehanort.  
Hikari sighed as she looked at the ground. Mickey had mentioned that Xehanort had caused a lot of harm on the ones called Terra, Aqua, Ven and Lumen. Just thinking that Lumen was one of Xehanort’s countless victims in his quest made her heart ache.  
Just how many more lives did that man intend to ruin?  
She as well as Sora and Riku weren’t going to let that happen, which is why they accepted the King and Yen Sid’s invitation to become Keyblade Masters. She didn’t know what these Mark of Mastery exams would accomplish but she hoped it would help them stop Xehanort once and for all.  
“Do you think these exams will really help us stop Xehanort from coming back?” she asked.  
Riku looked at her before he shrugged.  
“I can’t say” he said.  
“I don’t think taking these exams will prevent his return, but I’m sure they’ll give us a better chance at defeating him”  
Hikari fiddled with her pendant nervously.  
“I’m kind of nervous about these exams. None of us have ever faced anything like this before”  
Sora looked at her with a hopeful grin.  
“What’s to be nervous about? We’ve beaten this guy twice already, I’m sure the third time will be the charm. And think about it! We’ll be actual Keyblade Masters!”  
Riku nodded reassuringly.  
“Sora’s right, I’m sure we have nothing to worry about. And if anything, bad happens, you’ll have a Keyblade Master to protect you”  
Hikari smiled softly and cupped his face.  
“I think I’d rather have my boyfriend protect me than a Keyblade Master” she teased.  
Riku smiled and placed his hand over hers.  
“Hey! Don’t get all lovey dovey back there! We’re almost there!” Donald called out.  
Hikari laughed and dropped her hand.  
“Sorry, Donald”  
She looked out the Gummi Ship window to see the stars pass by.  
‘That dream…I wonder if it has something to do with Xehanort?’ she thought.  
‘What are you trying to tell me, Lumen?’  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
The sight of the Mysterious Tower was rather surreal for Hikari. She came here to begin her last adventure and she was here now to begin another.  
‘Least I won’t have to get a new outfit this time’ she thought.  
Sora was busy chatting away with Donald and Goofy while they walked up to the tower, which left Riku and Hikari to walk together in the back.  
“Too bad mom couldn’t come with us to see us take the exams” Hikari said.  
“I heard the Mickey wanted her and Tsukiko to go to Disney Castle to help the Queen with something” he said.  
“And because knowing her, she would have wanted to jump in and help us pass, so it’s probably best that she isn’t here”  
Hikari laughed at that, knowing it was true.  
Everyone nearly made it to the top of the tower when Riku suddenly stopped, grabbing Hikari’s arm in the process. Hikari looked at her boyfriend, wondering what was wrong.  
“Riku?”  
Riku looked at her and gave her hand a squeeze.  
“You know I won’t let anything bad happen to you, right?”  
Hikari tilted her head in confusion.  
“Huh?”  
Riku just gave her a gentle look as he cupped her face.  
“I know you’re worried about what’s happening and how we’re going to deal with Xehanort. You’ve been nervous ever since we got that letter”  
Hikari gave him a weak smile, trying to mask her emotions. She was nervous about all of this. Sure, her last two adventures were nerve wrecking…but something about the King’s letter put her on edge…almost as if something bad was about to happen. And that dream she had of Lumen couldn’t be a coincidence either. These two had to be connected somehow. She really couldn’t say though because she had no idea how they were connected and because she didn’t want to make Sora or Riku worried. Why waste time worrying on something when you didn’t know what it was, right?  
“I’m fine, Riku. I’m just overwhelmed” She said.  
Riku just gave her a pointed look.  
“Come on, you may be able to trick Sora but I’m smarter than him. What’s really going on in your head?’  
Hikari sighed in defeat. Of course, Riku could see through her poker face.  
“It’s just...we just defeated Organization XIII, but by doing that it caused Xehanort’s return”  
She sat down on one of the steps, feeling as if the weight of Mickey’s words were finally weighing down on her.  
“It’s like everything we did to keep the worlds safe just had the opposite effect I think we might have made things worse”  
“But if we didn’t stop Xemnas and the Organization from taking over Kingdom Hearts, think of how many lives would have been ruined because of them” Riku reasoned as he took a seat next to her.  
Hikari looked at him sadly. It seemed that he didn’t sense the warning signs that she was feeling.  
“But…something about these exams just feels off” she said.  
“And that dream I had earlier, it’s connected somehow. I just get this feeling like something really bad it about to happen and I don’t know how to prevent it from happening. We’re not just going up against Heartless and Nobodies this time…we’re going after the man who started it all”  
Hikari’s hand shook slightly in fear. She had never felt like this on her last journeys but maybe they were all starting to catch up to her…or maybe it was because someone was afraid of Xehanort.  
Riku looked at Hikari sadly. He didn’t blame her for being nervous about Xehanort when the man pretty much destroyed Hikari and Taiyouko’s lives. A man like Xehanort didn’t care about anyone or anything.  
“Hey, look at me” he said gently.  
He cupped her face and pressed his forehead against hers.  
“It’s gonna be okay” he said.  
“I’m nervous about all of this too and I’m wondering how we’re gonna tackle this. But you know what? We’re not alone in this. With you, Sora and I together, we’ll be able to handle this. And I promise you that I will never let anything bad happen to you. As long as we’re together, everything will be alright”  
Hikari closed her eyes, basking in the sound of Riku’s voice. He was right, she could do this. She traveled to different worlds and protected them from the Heartless, she survived having her heart taken from her, she defeated not only Xehanort’s Heartless but his Nobody as well.  
She could do this.  
Smiling, she placed her hands over Riku’s.  
“You’re right, we’ll be okay. We stopped him before and we can do it again” she said.  
“And if we don’t do anything now, who will help those four that Mickey mentioned?”  
Riku smiled and kissed her on the lips.  
“I love you, and that will never change no matter what. Whenever you feel nervous just remember that”  
Hikari blushed a little; she still felt giddy whenever Riku told her he loved her.  
“I love you too. I did travel to different worlds to be with you again” she teased.  
Riku chuckled and stood up, offering her his hand.  
“Well then, what are we waiting for? That test won’t take itself you know”  
Hikari nodded and grabbed his hand.  
“Yeah, let’s go. Oh, and before I forget”  
She took of her pendant and placed around Riku’s neck.  
“This helped you out a lot on your last journey. I want you to have that help again for this as well”  
Riku touched her lucky charm and smiled. He never realized how much it meant to him until now. It symbolized the bond they shared and that no matter how far away they were from each other, it would always bring them back together.  
“I don’t know how much help I’ll need with this exam, but I’ll take all the help I can get”  
Hikari smile smiled and held his hand. Even if for some reason they were separated again by something, they would always find their way back to each other thanks to that pendant.  
With that, they climbed up the rest of the steps that would lead them to the next portion of their journey.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
The three keyblade wilders stood before Yen Sid. Knowing that they were about to face would be no walk in the park, they listened to the wizard’s words like they were sacred.  
“As a Keyblade Master, Xehanort had a gift like few others” the wizard began.  
“But such great minds are often plagued by a single great question. What is the essence of the human heart that weakens us, or empowers us? The answer, he believed, would be found in the ‘Keyblade War’. What if the challenges of our past were in fact, a map to the light and darkness that battle within us all”  
Hikari secretly grabbed Riku’s hand, knowing all too well what that feeling was like. Seeing Riku nearly succumb to the darkness nearly drove her mad. It was thanks to Sora not giving up on him and her love for him that helped her go forward and save him. It seemed Xehanort was unfortunate to not have someone there for him when he went too far.  
“Xehanort had to know, so he renounced his duties as Master and chose the Seeker’s life. Since then, in many a guise, he has clashed with protectors of the light-Keyblade Wielders like yourselves. And mark my words-he will trouble us yet again”  
Mickey looked away sadly thinking of Terra, Aqua, Ven and Lumen. He failed to save them from Xehanort, but he would throw his life away if it meant Sora, Riku and Hikari wouldn’t have to share a similar fate.  
“We must be ready” Yen Sid said.  
“Which is why you, Sora, Riku and Hikari, are to be tested for the Mark of a true Keyblade Master”  
He smirked slightly seeing the protesting look on Sora’s face and the questionable one on Hikari’s.  
“No doubt you fancy yourselves master’s already, but it takes years of training. Only a true Master can teach you the proper way” he explained.  
“The three of you are self-taught Keyblade wielders-an impressive feat. However, the time has come for you to let go of preconceived notions, forget what you know about the Keyblade, and begin your training with a clean slate”  
Sora laughed nervously, not liking the idea of starting from scratch. They worked really hard to get where they were now, why did they have to toss that away?  
“But that’s a formality right” He asked.  
“We already proved ourselves. Me, Hikari, the King, and Riku-we can take on anything”  
He looked at Riku to support his claim.  
“Right, Riku?”  
Riku looked at the ground, not liking the attention.  
“I don’t know” he said.  
He summoned his keyblade which showed traits of it being connected to the darkness.  
“I think in my heart, darkness still has a hold” he said.  
“Walking that path changed me. I’m not sure I’m ready to wield a keyblade. Maybe I do need to be tested”  
Hikari looked at him sadly. It seemed despite what he said earlier, he was having doubts about this as well. Even after everything they did, he still couldn’t forgive himself for the sins he committed.  
“Riku….”  
She closed her eyes before looking at Yen Sid. It seemed now her mind was made up about the exam. It Riku was going to support her taking the exam, then she would do the same for him.

“Then count me in as well. Put me through the test” she declared.  
Sora nodded, feeling eager to take it and prove how strong he became.  
“Just watch-me, Riku and Hikari will pass with flying colors!”  
Hikari smiled at Sora’s enthusiasm. It was moments such as these that it was needed to calm everyone’s nerves.  
Yen Sid nodded in acknowledgement.  
“Very well then. Sora, Riku, and Hikari-let your examination begin”  
Hikari gripped Sora and Riku’s hands when the exam began, and everything turned black.  
‘Ready or not, here we come’  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
A/N: woo wee now that was intense. Wonder why Hikari was dreaming about Lumen? Is she trying to tell something to our favorite keyblade wielder? And what about that journal entry Mickey showed to Yen Sid? Lots of questions that need lots of answers.  
Please tell me what you think!  
Until next time!


	2. Traverse Town: Hikari's side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikari finds herself in Traverse Town and realizes that neither Riku or Sora are with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Here's chapter 2! I'm really excited that a lot of you are on this site as well! Hopefully this works out though. Still trying to figure out how this site works but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon. 
> 
> I'm gonna try and post a chapter every Saturday since I'm busy throughout the week and with Kingdom Hearts 3 just coming out in 10 days, I have a feeling you all will want to play it (I know I do even though I'm terrified about that ending Nomura mentioned lol)
> 
> So the Exam has begun for Hikari! How is it gonna start off for her?

When Hikari came to, she realized she was laying down on a cobble road. Groaning, she slowly got up, taking in her surroundings. She realized right away that she was in Traverse Town-the very first world she traveled to on her journeys.   
“Huh? This is….Traverse Town. Why did I end up here?”  
When she noticed how unusually quiet it was, she realized she was by herself with no sight of Sora or Riku.  
She panicked when she didn’t see them. They were with her when the exam began so where were they? Looking around the district, she tried to spot her friend and boyfriend.  
“Sora! Riku!”  
When she got no response, she sighed and rubbed her neck.  
‘Maybe they’re in a different section of the town’ she thought.   
She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head at her predicament.  
“Well, I’m not going to find them by just standing here” she said to herself.   
“Plus, knowing Sora, he’ll get lost in this maze of a town and I’m not sure how well Riku knows this place”   
With that in mind, she went to go help her poor male keyblade companions.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
It didn’t take Hikari long to realize that Traverse Town was a lot different than when she was last here. While the first three districts were the same, she noticed that there were larger, over the top looking districts as well.   
“Wonder if they expanded the town while I was gone?”   
She kept a watchful eye on her new surroundings-new locations meant new enemies. She hadn’t run into any Heartless yet since she woke up, but she didn’t want to let her guard down.   
As she continued to search for Sora and Riku, she started to worry. Surely, she would have ran into them by now, so, where were they?   
She saw someone up ahead and decided to ask around. If looking by herself wasn’t working, then asking for help might.   
Walking up to the person, she saw a little girl talking to a moogle.   
“Um, excuse me, but have you seen two boys that go by the name Sora or Riku?”  
The girl turned to her, then looked to the sky in thought.   
“Ummm…. sorry, I’m not sure” she said.  
“All I know is that my name is Rhyme”   
Hikari tilted her head in curiosity.  
“You mean you lost your memory?” she asked.  
Rhyme nodded, acting like it was no big deal. Hikari frowned sadly knowing all too well what Rhyme was going through. Not too long ago she had lost her memories of her childhood. It was thanks to her travels and her special abilities that she was able to regain them again.   
“I’m so sorry. I had the same problem when I was younger” she said.  
Rhyme just smiled and waved her off.  
“Aw, it’s no big deal. You know what they say- ‘sometimes memories just need a little help getting out’”  
Hikari couldn’t help but smile. It was reassuring to see Rhyme be so positive about her predicament.  
“That’s the spirit. I’m sure you’ll remember them in no time” she encouraged.  
Rhyme smiled happily.  
“I know I will” she said.  
“Hey, would you like me to help you find your friends? Maybe that can help me remember something and it will be better to have two set of eyes looking for something instead of one”  
Hikari seemed hesitant. She didn’t want to drag a child into something that might be dangerous.  
“Are you sure?”  
Rhyme nodded.  
“I don’t mind. Besides, I’m sure your friends are worried about you. I know I would be if I was in their place”  
Hikari smiled a little, knowing Rhyme was right. She could already picture Riku freaking out because he couldn’t find her and Sora panicking knowing that if Riku knew he lost her, he would kill him.   
Offering the girl her hand, she decided to continue her search with her new friend.  
“Alright then, let’s go!”  
With that, Hikari continued her search with the help of Rhyme.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Figuring that they wouldn’t be in the larger districts, the girls decided to head back towards the first district and work from there. Hikari found it amusing how Rhyme would ask questions about random things, hoping it would trigger a memory.  
“So how did you end up in Traverse Town?” Rhyme asked.  
Hikari laughed nervously, wondering what to say to Rhyme. She didn’t think it was a good idea to say she was training to stop a crazy mad man from plunging the worlds into darkness. So, she decided to be vague with her answer.  
“I’m…taking a test” she said lamely.  
“A test?” Rhyme repeated.  
Hikari nodded.  
“It’s to see if I have what it takes to face these difficult challenges I’ll face in the future. Right now, I’m not strong enough to face them, so that’s why I’m taking this test with my friends, Sora and Riku” she explained.  
“But when I woke up, they weren’t here with me, so I need to find them to make sure they’re ok”  
Rhyme mulled over Hikari’s words, trying to figure out the Keyblade wielder’s situation.  
“If this is a test to prove your strength, then maybe your friends aren’t here with you because you need to tackle this alone. You can’t figure out your own strength when there are others with you. You need to do that on your own”   
Rhyme’s words made Hikari stop in her tracks. She hadn’t realized that when Yen Sid placed them within the exam, he would separate them all, so they could take it themselves.   
This was a little nerve wrecking to her. Since she acquired the Keyblade, she was always with someone be it Sora, Donald or Goofy. She never fought anyone on her own.  
“That never occurred to me…how can I take this test all on my own?”   
It seemed luck wasn’t on her side at the moment when suddenly dark looking animals appeared out of nowhere.  
“Oh no! Dream Eaters!” Rhyme cried.  
Hikari quickly picked her up and hid her somewhere safe where the Dream Eaters wouldn’t get her.   
“Stay here until the coast is clear, ok?”   
Rhyme nodded and shuffled closer into her hiding spot while Hikari ran back to the Dream Eaters, summoning her Keyblade as she did so.   
“You’re not laying a hand on that girl’s head, you hear me?”  
The Dream Eaters attacked her anyway. Fighting by herself, Hikari realized that her physical skills lacked greatly. Since she was always teamed up with Sora and the gang, she would rely on magic with Donald while Sora and Goofy would fend the enemy off with their physical attacks. It seemed this exam was showing what Hikari needed to improve on if she wanted to become a master.   
She was able to hold her own for quite a bit before a Kooma Panda did a sneak attack and pinned her to the ground. Her Keyblade fell out of her hands, skidding across the cobbled ground. She groaned as she tried to get out from underneath the creature.   
“Why does something so cute have to be so heavy?” she groaned.  
The panda raised its giant paw, ready to hit her in the head and knock her out. Just as it was about to collided with her head, a high-pitched shrieking noise filled the air before a yellow ball of fluff zipped by and hit the panda in the face.   
The Kooma Panda flew from the impact, causing Hikari to go free. She didn’t waste any time as she quickly grabbed her Keyblade and went to see what saved her from getting knocked out. Funny enough, it was a little bat creature who was in the middle of swatting the Panda’s face with its wings.  
Knowing her target was distracted, she went for the finishing blow and vanquished the Dream Eater.  
Seeing it was safe again, Rhyme came out of her hiding spot and went over to Hikari.  
“That was pretty cool how you took out all of those Dream Eaters like that” she said.   
Hikari laughed nervously as she rubbed her neck.   
“Eh, this just showed how rusty I’ve gotten” she said.  
“Plus, I got help from this little guy too”  
Upon better inspection, Hikari saw that the bat was in fact a Dream Eater as well. However, unlike the ones that were attacking her before this one had blue eyes while the others had red.   
The little Koomary Bat squeaked and squealed as it hovered near Hikari. The keyblade wielder smiled, seeing how cute it was.  
“So, these things are called Dream Eaters?” she asked.  
Rhyme nodded.  
“Yeah, these guys are really helpful against the bad ones” she said.  
“The trick is to control them though. Once you become their master, then they’ll you get out of sticky situations”   
Hikari looked at the little bat and suddenly remembered that Yen Sid mentioned about them before their exam began. Apparently, it would take a long time to have this exam in the ‘real’ world so Yen Sid used his magic to place them in what he called the ‘dream worlds’. Apparently when the worlds were plunged into darkness some of them were placed in a sleeping state. They weren’t in the darkness and yet at the same time they were in the light either, they were basically stuck in limbo. And because of that the Heartless and Nobodies couldn’t access these worlds since they were basically ‘dreams’. So, to get access to these dream worlds they made dreamed versions of themselves, which was of course the Dream Eaters.   
But like any dream there are two sides to them: Nightmares that feed on the negative dreams in people’s hearts and Spirits who feed on the Nightmares, almost as if they were living Dream Catchers. Depending on what kind of Dream Eaters they faced, they would have to destroy the Nightmares, making sure they didn’t prey on the innocent like the Heartless and Nobodies did, or tame the Spirit ones, hoping they were willing to lend their strength get rid of the Nightmares.   
Either way, it seemed like Hikari was going to get help in this exam, just not the help she was expecting.   
She studied the Spirit Dream Eater that was before her. It seemed that it wanted to help her fight against the Nightmares.   
“So, these guys will help me out?”  
Rhyme nodded.  
“Yep, that’s what they’re here for”  
Hikari looked at the bat and offered her hand.  
“What do you say little guy? Care to join us?”  
The bat squealed and flew into her. Hikari laughed when it wrapped its wings around her and nuzzled her face.  
“I’ll take that as a yes then” she teased.  
The bat let her go and flew around her happily.  
“Wonder if Sora and Riku have one of these critters with them?” she wondered.  
“Only way to know is if we find them” Rhyme said.  
Hikari nodded. Just because she had to take her exam on her own didn’t mean it stopped her from looking for her friends.  
“Right, let’s get going”  
They continued with their new little Dream Eater friend to the next district.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
It seemed that once Hikari gained a Dream Eater, more Nightmares appeared. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but it gave her a chance to work on her attacking skills.   
“There seem to be no end to these things” she said.  
“But at least your Dream Eater friend is helping” Rhyme pointed out.   
Despite being small, the little bat was efficient when it came to attacking enemies. It would keep the Nightmares distracted long enough for Hikari to strike them down.   
“You should probably name it, so it’ll obey you when you need its help” Rhyme suggested.  
Hikari looked at the bat in front of her, wondering what would be the perfect name for such a little thing. She noticed it was rather unique looking compared to the other Dream Eaters. While most of them had red or yellow eyes, this one had light blue eyes. Not only that, but its head was a light yellow while its wings were different shades of blue.   
The color scheme reminded her of the one person who was most precious to her.  
“Riki” she said.  
She smiled at the bat sweetly.  
“From now on, I’ll call you Riki Bat”  
The bat chirped before nuzzling Hikari’s face. Hikari giggled and cuddled the creature close.  
Rhyme smiled at the scene, but it soon faded when she sensed someone. Hikari sensed it too and turned to see a figure wearing an Organization XIII coat.  
Panicking, she summoned her Keyblade and pushed Rhyme behind her. She didn’t know who this mysterious figure was, but now wasn’t the time to figure that out.  
“Rhyme, run!” she ordered.  
She charged at the mysterious figure when suddenly she felt her body become heavy. Dropping her keyblade, she held her head when she felt dizzy and her vision go blurry.  
“Huh? Why…am I…so sleepy?”   
Her body caved in and collapsed to the ground.   
Through her hazy vision, she saw the mysterious figure slowly approach her.  
“Sora…Riku….” She said quietly.  
The last thing she saw was the mysterious figure reaching towards her.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Once again Hikari found herself within the crystal cave. Looking around she noticed that she was in a different part of the cave with no sight of Lumen.   
“Where did she go?”  
Looking at her chest, she saw the chain was protruding from it. Picking up the mysterious object, she noticed the chain leading a trail to one of the many openings within the cave as if leading a path.   
“Wonder what this leads to?”  
Following the chain, she went further and further into the cave. These chains seemed familiar somehow, yet she didn’t know where she saw them. As she went further into the cave, she noticed the trail lead her into another cavern where large crystals littered the whole area. She could see her reflection bounce off each one of its smooth surface, acting like a mirror in a way.   
When Hikari looked at herself in one of the crystals closest to her, her image changed into Lumen’s. Hikari jumped back when she saw her, wondering where she came from.   
“Why are you doing this? What do you want?”  
Lumen didn’t say anything, instead she pointed towards the larger crystals that were before Hikari. Hesitantly, Hikari went up to them, wondering what Lumen wanted her to see. As she got closer, the crystals came to life, glowing brightly with light.   
When Hikari looked closer, she noticed that she could see images coming off the crystal, almost as if they were projections. She watched as a little video of Lumen came to life. She was sitting on the ledge looking at the starry sky with three other companions beside her. She had never met these people but Hikari knew their names as if she knew them all her life.  
Terra, Aqua and Ven.  
The four of them looked happy as they chatted away and stared up at the sky. At one pointed Aqua pulled out a set of lucky charms and handed them out to each one of them. The four of them held them up, showing that they were connected and would always be together.   
It image soon blurred before fading away into darkness. Lumen appeared before the crystal, holding her lucky charm within her hand. She sadly stared at the gift Aqua made for her before covering it with her fingers.   
“You have to help me save them, Hikari” she said.  
She looked at the young Keyblade wielder sadly.  
“I can’t see them suffer anymore. I need your help to set them free”  
Before Hikari could say anything, the light from the crystals faded, turning everything into darkness.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Terra…Aqua…Ven….” Hikari mumbled.   
She remembered who those three were. They were the ones that Yen Sid and Mickey mentioned. They were Lumen’s closest friends. Seeing the four of them talking together and watching the stars reminded her of when she would watch the sunset with Sora, Riku and Kairi.  
Even when they were suffering, their bond still held them together.  
Groaning, she slowly woke up, trying to figure out why she passed out so suddenly.  
“What happened?” she asked herself.   
She looked around to see that she was alone. She suddenly remembered that Rhyme was with her before she passed out and that there was a mysterious figure in an Organization coat following them.   
“Where did he go? Where’s Rhyme? Did he capture her?”  
She quickly got to her feet and looked around the area.   
“I have to find her!”  
Riki bat appeared before her, fluttering around quickly to gain her attention. The bat motioned towards the next district as if wanting Hikari to follow it.   
“Riki Bat, do you know where Rhyme is?”  
The bat nodded and flew ahead to show her the way. Hikari quickly followed the Dream Eater so she could save her young friend.  
“Hang on, Rhyme. I’m coming!”  
The bizarre duo ran through the maze that made up Traverse Town, hoping that nothing happened to their young friend.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
When they made it to the Fifth District, Riku Bat lead Hikari to a giant greenhouse that made the focus point of the district. Running up to the roof, Hikari spotted Rhyme standing near the edge of the greenhouse.   
“Rhyme!”   
She quickly dashed over across the glass roof, being mindful of how much weight she put into each step.   
“Thank goodness you’re okay! Did that man in the black coat do anything to you?”  
Rhyme slowly turned around, only to transform into the mysterious figure. Hikari skidded to a stop and summoned her Keyblade.  
“You again! What did you do to Rhyme?!”  
They mysterious figure lifted its hand and summoned a Hockomonkey Nightmare. Hikari backed away at the size of it. The monkey roared, slamming its fists together to show it wanted to fight.   
Hikari shook her head in fear.  
“There’s no way I can defeat this thing on my own” she said.  
Now she really wished that she didn’t take these exams. She wasn’t a strong fighter by herself. The only reason she ever won battles was because she had Sora, Donald and Goofy helping her out. Without them, she was nothing.   
“I can’t do this. I can’t defeat this thing by myself”  
She went to run but stopped when she recalled the dream she had of Lumen. She kept saying that it was up to her to save her friends and she was the only one who could do it. They were waiting for such a long time, hoping and praying that someone would hear their cries of help. Hoping that someone would stop Xehanort, so he would never harm another soul like he did them.   
Hikari gripped her Keyblade tightly to the point that her knuckles turned white. Yen Sid had told her that she, Sora and Riku were the only ones who could save them. If they backed out now, then who would save them?  
Looking back at the Nightmare, she finally realized what she had to do.  
“No. I can’t run away now…not when they need me” she said as she walked back to the creature.  
“There are so many people who are counting on me, so many lives that need help. If I run away now, who will save them? And I need to save Rhyme from this creep. I can’t let them down”  
She looked at the mysterious figure and glared, pointing her keyblade towards them.  
“If you think you can scare me with your big Dream Eater, then you have no idea who you’re facing”   
She quickly went into a fighting stance, squaring off with the enemy that was before her.  
“You picked the wrong girl to start a fight with, monkey man”  
A ball of light started to glow from within Hikari before it sprang forth from her, taking the form of a yellow and white Pegaslick Dream Eater. The horse neighed as it flew towards her. Hikari held her hand out and watched as the Dream Eater nuzzled into her palm.  
“Are you here to help me?” she asked.   
The Pegaslick nodded before taking a stance next to her, ready to face the Hockomonkey. Riki Bat flew towards her other side, puffing out its fuzzy chest as if to show it was ready to fight as well. Hikari smiled and went back into her fighting stance.   
“Alright, let’s show this ape what we can do!”  
The Hockomonkey roared once again as it swung its fist at them. Hikari dodged and looked at her surroundings to get a better idea of how to defeat this thing. They were out in the open with hardly any spots to hide for cover and nothing to use as a weapon. They were in a barren environment which was becoming a huge disadvantage. Looking down at her feet, Hikari could see through the glass roof of the greenhouse. The whole area was filled with various plants and a flowing waterfall that helped keep the plants alive.   
‘If I can get that thing down there, I might have a higher chance at beating it’ she thought.   
If the Nightmare was in a contained area, that meant it wouldn’t be able to move around as much. But at the same time since they were in a tight area that meant the chances of the others getting hit were high too.   
Hikari would have to be the first one to attack if she wanted to win this fight.   
Coming up with a plan, she summoned her Dream Eaters to tell them of her idea and what their roles would be. When each creature got their task, she put her plan into motion.  
“Alright, let’s wrap this up so we can save Rhyme”   
She jumped onto the Pegaslick’s back and flew over the Hockomonkey’s head. Aiming her keyblade at the glass ceiling, she shot a beam of light at it causing the roof to shatter. They Hockomonkey fell through the roof and landed into the greenhouse where it was trapped.  
Now for Phase 2.  
“Now, Riki Bat!”  
The little bat zipped into the greenhouse, grabbing various vines it could find and wrapped them around the Hockomonkey’s wrists. This wouldn’t contain it for long, but it would be enough for what Hikari had in mind next.  
Flying into the greenhouse, she aimed her keyblade at the water fall, calling forth a water spell. Sure, enough the waterfall grew bigger which cause the greenhouse the start flooding with extra water.   
Just what Hikari was hoping for.   
Aiming her Keyblade now at the pool she created, she smiled darkly as she used the spell that would end this match.  
“THUNDER!”  
The whole area filled with lighting as it dances across the water and hit the Hockomonkey. The Nightmare let out a strangled roar as it was electrocuted. Hikari kept the spell going until the Nightmare couldn’t handle it anymore and its body finally caved in and turned into dark dream particles.   
When the Nightmare was finally gone, Hikari sighed with relief and slumped against the Pegaslick’s neck.  
“That was a close one”  
Riki Bat flew towards them and chirped happily at the fact that they won. Smiling softly, Hikari stroked its soft fur while she patted the Pegaslick’s neck.  
“I couldn’t have done it without you guys. Thanks for helping me”  
Looking up at the ceiling, she narrowed her eyes. That mysterious figure was still out there. Now that the Nightmare was gone it was time to take care of her next problem.   
Flying out of the greenhouse, she went to see who this person was.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Sure enough, Hikari found the Organization member standing near the edge of the greenhouse. Jumping off the Pegaslick, she strode over to him Keyblade in hand.   
“Alright you, shows over. Now tell me what you did with Rhyme?”  
The mysterious figure didn’t say anything for a moment, but when it did it was bone chilling.  
“A Keyblade Weidler who can not only see memories but is also one of the princesses of heart. I wonder, just how many more titles do you hold?”  
They turned around and pulled back their hood, revealing to be a boy around Hikari’s age with tan skin and silver hair.  
He smiled at her darkly as if thinking about something.  
“I’m starting to see why she picked you to be her successor”   
Hikari narrowed her eyes and went into a fighting stance.   
“Who are you?” she demanded.  
The mysterious figure laughed darkly.   
“I think the question is who are you? Will you be the one who makes my dreams come true? Or shall you let my nightmares become a reality?”  
Never taking his eyes off her, he opened a dark portal and slowly walked towards it.  
“Take care, Hikari. I look forward to seeing you unlock the secrets that sleep deep within your heart”  
When the portal closed, Hikari dismissed her Keyblade.   
“Just who was that guy?” she wondered.  
“He seemed familiar…and yet at the same time…he wasn’t”  
She sighed, knowing she had yet another mystery to solve. Fortunately, she was pulled from her rambled thoughts when she saw two very familiar faces run into the Fifth District.   
Gasping, Hikari quickly ran down to the bottom floor of the greenhouse, hoping to catch up to Sora and Riku.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Hikari’s heart was jumping for joy when she saw Sora and Riku. She was afraid that she would have to take these exams on her own, but it looked like that wasn’t the case. They were here and that meant they could pass this exam with flying colors and figure out who this mysterious figure was.   
She smiled as she got closer, not realizing that both looked transparent.   
“Sora! Riku!”  
“Just a moment, Hikari”  
Hikari skidded to a stop when a boy with beige hair suddenly appeared before her with Rhyme at her side. At the sight of her, Hikari’s attention immediately when to Rhyme instead.  
“Rhyme!”  
She flung herself at the girl and pulled her into a tight hug.  
“Oh, thank goodness you’re alright. I’m so sorry for putting you into danger like that”  
Rhyme just smiled at returned the hug.   
“It’s alright. I’m happy you came to rescue me, but I’m fine. He took me away before that man in the coat could do anything” she said as she gestured to the boy next to her.  
Hikari finally took the time to study this new face. There was something off about this boy, but she could tell that his heart was in the right place.  
“Thank you…um?”  
The boy chuckled.  
“Pardon me, where are my manners? I’m Joshua”  
Hikari nodded her head in acknowledgement.  
“Thank you for saving Rhyme, Joshua. But…how do you know my name? And where did you take Rhyme?”  
Joshua wore a mysterious smirk as he tucked a hand in his pocket.   
“If you’d like to settle down for a sec, I’ll field your questions one at a time” he offered.  
Hikari pondered for a moment. She wanted to catch up to Sora and Riku, but right now her main concern was Rhyme and making sure she was ok.  
“Very well, I would appreciate it if you would clear up a few things for me” she said.  
Joshua nodded in understanding.  
“Let’s start with Rhyme” he said.  
“I’m hanging onto her dreams for her. They’re my portal”   
Hikari tilted her head.  
“Portal?”  
Joshua rubbed his neck, trying to find a better way at explaining things.  
“Let’s just say her dreams area a gateway between worlds” he explained.   
“Next question-how could I possibly know your name? This town has a little secret. It only appears when someone out there has a need of shelter”  
Hikari nodded, finally understanding something he was saying. Of course, she knew about the workings of Traverse Town-she lived her with Leon before she made it to the islands.  
“Believe me, I know the functions of this world. I lived here for a bit when I was a kid…although it seemed some areas were added since I was last here”  
Joshua shook his head.  
“That’s where you’re wrong. You stayed on the version of this world that is in the realm of in between, while the one you’re currently on is one that is made up of my dreams” he clarified.   
“That’s why I was able to know your name-I dreamed you up. I also know your friends, Sora and Riku”   
Hikari’s heart leaped, remembering that she saw them close by before Joshua showed up. She went towards them, only for Joshua to stop her.  
“Wait a minute. Surely you can tell that they’re not here physically”  
Hikari looked at Joshua then looked at Sora and Riku. Now that she saw them closer, she could tell right away that they weren’t here. They looked transparent as if they were projected from a screen and were moving around as if they were there.   
She went up to Riku’s projection and reached her hand towards him. Her heart sank when her hand went right through him. She was so close to him and yet so far away.  
‘It’s like my last two journeys all over again’ she thought.   
“If they’re not here…then where are they?”   
Joshua walked up to the projection, watching the scene unfold before them.  
“They’re right inside this projection, in another imaging of this world” he explained.   
Hikari took a moment to process all this information Joshua was giving her. It they weren’t on the same Traverse Town she was on, then they were on a different one.  
“So…they’re in another Traverse Town? Is there a way I can reach them?”  
“Sad to say, it doesn’t work that way” Joshua said.  
“You can’t travel through another person’s dreams. In this projection, you’re seeing another chain of events, in another world trapped by the Dream Eaters. As for how the world got split into various pieces…I have a feeling you’ll need to ask that guy”  
A projection of the mysterious figure appeared before Riku, telling him something that clearly put him on edge.  
“What is he doing there?” Hikari wondered.  
This was proof that this mysterious figure was bad news. If he could cross dreams like it was nothing, who knew what else could do as well.  
‘These exams seem to be taking a turn for the worse. I need to find Sora and Riku before that mysterious guy harms them’ she thought.  
She looked at Sora and Riku’s projections again. They seemed to be okay now but hopefully they could take care of themselves until she found them.  
“Sora…”  
She looked at Riku’s projection and held her hand up as if to reach him again.  
“Riku…”  
Riku’s projection held up his hand as if he could sense her. The two of their hands touched, showing that despite being far away, they were still near one another.   
Hikari smiled at the connection.  
“Don’t worry, Riku. I’ll catch up to you and Sora in no time” she said.  
“And how do you plan to accomplish that?” Joshua asked.  
“You can’t cross dreams like that. The only way you can see them again is if you woke up”  
Hikari looked at him determinedly.  
“I have to try at least” she said.  
“The bond I share with them is an unbreakable one. No matter where I am, my heart will always lead me to theirs. If I keep that in mind, then I’ll see them again in this exam”  
She smiled at her new Dream Eater friends.  
“Besides, I’m sure my new friends will be more than happy to help me out”  
The two Dream Eaters chirped and squealed at the idea of going on an adventure.  
Hikari sighed as she placed her hands on her hips.   
“I was really skeptical about taking this exam, but it’s a good thing I took it” she said.  
“If there are people like that creepy boy entering the realm of dreams and causing trouble, then I need to stop him. What kind of Keyblade Wielder would I be if I let this happen?”  
She held up her fight.  
“I’ll stop that guy and show Sora and Riku I can take care of myself. They’ve always protected me in the past and now it’s my turn to protect them”  
Joshua smirked as he laughed under his breath.  
“So, this is the Hikari she was talking about” he muttered.  
The keyhole to Traverse Town appeared before them. Summoning her keyblade, Hikari sealed it so the Nightmares wouldn’t attack it again. One down and who knew how many more to go.  
“Sora…Riku…hang in there until I reach you, okay?” she said quietly.  
She looked at Rhyme and smiled sadly to her.  
“I’m sorry that I have to leave but I need to help these other sleeping worlds”  
Rhyme nodded in understanding.  
“It’s okay. Just be careful on your travels. And make sure you come back and visit”  
Hikari knelt and pulled her into a hug.  
“Thanks for everything” she whispered.  
She got up and started walking away. She still didn’t know if she had what it took to become a Master. What she did know though was that the other sleeping worlds and her friends needed help and she would be the one to come to their aid.  
‘I swear I will protect everything’ she vowed.  
With that vow, Hikari’s quest to become a Keyblade Master began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're off! Seems like this wasn't a great way for Hikari to start her exam but then again, but then again this could be a learning experience for her. Gotta stay on your toes no matter where you are right? 
> 
> Please tell me what you think! Oh and if you want to hear trivia about the gang feel free to let me know since I can do that here! 
> 
> Take care!


	3. Traverse Town: Riku's side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku's Mark of Mastery Exam has begun. However he notices right away that his girlfriend is no where in sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to post this chapter a day early because I'll be at work all day tomorrow. Plus the weather is really nasty here by me and the power keeps going on and off because of the cold so I didn't want to wait an extra day lol.

When Riku woke up he realized he wasn’t in Yen Sid’s study anymore but rather the Third District of Traverse Town.   
‘What in the world is going on? Why am I in Traverse Town?’  
The other thing he realized was that neither Sora or Hikari were with him, which meant he was all alone.   
“Sora! Hikari! Where are you?” he called out.   
Sadly, he got no response from either of the two. Running a hand through his hair, he tried to process everything that had happened all the while trying to keep calm over the fact that his best friend and girlfriend were missing.   
“I remember we were in Yen Sid’s study…and then everything went black.  
He looked at the district, slowly putting the pieces together.   
“So…this must be one of the sleeping worlds” he realized.  
“So, it’s started”  
He closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. This was not how he wanted the exams to start. He thought that since the three of them were taking it together, they would be testing together as well.   
Clearly Yen Sid had other plans in mind.  
“Wow! Where’s your portal?”  
Riku jumped at the voice and looked around for the owner of it. When he finally found the person, he narrowed his eyes slightly. Sitting on top of the fountain was a boy his age who wore a mysterious smirk.   
“It takes something special to jump between places without one” he said.  
Riku put his guard up, getting a strange vibe from this boy. What did he mean by portals? And where did he come from?  
“Who are you?” he asked.  
The boy smiled, feeling pleased he was putting Riku on edge.   
“My name is Joshua”   
Riku ignored the introduction and got to the heart of the matter.   
“What do you mean by ‘portal’?” he asked.  
Joshua raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head.  
“Are we just skipping past the part where you tell me your name?” he taunted.  
Riku sighed in annoyance but complied to be polite. He had a feeling Joshua wouldn’t tell him anything until he did so.   
“It’s Riku”   
Joshua smiled and waved his hand mockingly.  
“Hello, Riku” he teased.  
“Portals are like gateways that link up our worlds. Apparently, the world you and I are standing in right now-well, there are three copies of it. It’s been sort of cut into pieces. Portals are what let folks like us cross between them”  
Riku pondered this over, trying to understand what Joshua was saying.  
“There are multiple versions of this world?” he asked.  
Joshua simply shrugged.  
“The world is as many things as people need it to be” he explained.  
“The concept that we all live in the same world-that’s just in our heads. Surely you knew that?”  
When he saw Riku still looked confused, he decided to show him an example.  
“Tell you what, Riku. I’ve got a little errand for you”  
Riku spun on his heel and started to walk away. He didn’t have time for Joshua’s riddles, nor did he care to hear them. He needed to find Sora and Hikari, so they could take their Mark of Mastery exams.  
“Sorry. I don’t trust you” he said.  
And it was true. After everything he went through, he always stayed cautious of new people. There were only a handful of people he trusted, and this Joshua kid wasn’t one of them.  
Joshua laughed as he jumped off the fountain.  
“Aw, at least hear me out!” he called out.  
“I’m looking for a girl named Rhyme. She’s the key to the portal. And on the other side, who knows who we’ll find? Maybe even your friends?”  
That stopped Riku in his tracks. Looking over his shoulder, he wondered how Joshua knew about his best friend and girlfriend.  
“You know Sora and Hikari? ” He asked.  
Joshua wore a mysterious smirk.  
“Now I have your attention” he said.  
He strode over to Riku, putting his hands in his pockets.  
“But, unfortunately, I don’t know where they are. If they’re not on this version of the world, I can only assume they have to be on one of the others. Simple logic”  
Riku sighed. He should have known it would have been too easy to find Sora and Hikari. Looking at Joshua, he studied him closely. He didn’t trust the guy, but he could tell that he was telling the truth about knowing where Sora and Hikari were.  
He knew he would probably regret this later, but he decided to help him. If it meant he could see Hikari again, he wouldn’t let this opportunity pass.  
“You wanna find Rhyme? You got it” he said.  
Joshua nodded in understanding.  
“Very well then, let’s go”  
The two left the district in search of Rhyme and in Riku’s case for Sora and Hikari.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Sure, enough when they entered the Second District, they were bombarded with Nightmares. Riku took care of them with ease but was surprised that they never attacked Joshua. It was as if the Dream Eaters tried to stay away from him as much as possible.   
“Joshua, how come they never attack you?” Riku asked when it was safe again.  
Joshua looked at him as they continued walking.  
“’They’ being Dream Eaters?” he clarified.  
“They won’t go after you unless you’re a dreamer. Which is funny, because I’ve got plenty of dreams”  
Riku found it off but didn’t say anything.  
“But they’re definitely attacking me” he said.  
“So…you think I’m a dreamer?”  
Joshua nodded, acting like it was obvious.  
“Every human is a dreamer. I had a friend once who said he never dreamed of anything, but it turned out that his were the most powerful dreams of all. You sort of remind me of him” he said.  
“Why don’t we give your dreams shape?”  
Riku thought about it and decided to give it a try. Yen Sid said they would help him with this exam so why let that pass?  
Closing his eyes, he thought of the strongest dreams he harbored deep within his heart. His desire to be by Hikari’s side and keep her safe were his biggest dreams. His second was having the strength to overcome the obstacles he would have to face soon. Both went hand in hand. His desire to protect what was most precious to him and have the help he needed to protect everything he held dear.  
The dreams took form and sprang from his heart, taking shape. When Riku opened his eyes, he was greeted to the sight of a red and black Pegaslick and a white, yellow and orange Yoggy Ram.  
Riku smiled at them, seeing they symbolized the two people who the most precious to him.  
Joshua was impressed with Riku’s Dream Eaters but wasn’t surprised. He had a strong heart so of course he would have strong Dream Eaters.  
“In this world, they take form as Dream Eaters, which can become great allies” he said.  
Riku looked at his new comrades, glad he would have some help with this exam.  
“I gotchu now, Joshua!”  
The moment was ruined when a punked out looking boy appeared on the upper level of the district and glared at Joshua.   
“Once I take you down, yo, me and Rhyme is goin’ back where we belong!”  
Joshua held the bridge of his nose, clearly not up for this boy’s antics.  
“Beat. How many times do we have to go over this?” he sighed.  
“You’ve been tricked-by that rouge in the black coat”  
That caught Riku’s attention right away. There was only one group of people who would wear black coats.   
“Black coats? But that’s- “  
“I’m telling you you’ve made a friend in our enemy” Joshua chided Beat.  
Beat shook his head.  
“Just can it, aight?” he snapped.  
“Your inverse psychiatry ain’t gonna work! Let’s go, Dream Eaters!”  
He summoned his Dream Eaters, clearly showing he meant business. Joshua sighed as he shook his head.  
“Not again” he groaned.  
Riku deiced to take matters into his own hands. It was obvious this Beat guy wasn’t going to back down and Joshua didn’t have any Dream Eaters that could help him fight.   
With his new Dream Eaters as his side, he took care of Beat’s within minutes, clearly showing that the punk was full of hot air.  
Beat just sat on the ground in defeat and pouted.  
“You know what? Forget it. This is stale, yo”  
Joshua just laughed as he walked up to him.  
“Playing the tough guy 24/7? I’d be worn out too” he teased.  
Beat placed his head in his hands, clearly bent out of shape over something.  
“I just…wanna protect the one person who matters most” he said.  
Riku felt a tug at his heart when he heard that. His hand went to Hikari’s necklace, giving it a squeeze.   
“I know the feeling” he said quietly.  
His vision suddenly became blurry as his body swayed unsteadily.  
“Why am I suddenly…so sleepy?”  
His body gave out while his mind succumbed to slumber. His dreams were filled with warnings Yen Sid had told them before the exams began.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
‘Long ago, in the age of fairy tales, the world was filled with light-a gift, many believed, from an unseen power known as ‘Kingdom Hearts’”  
Riku and Hikari listened intently, knowing this story all too well since Taiyouko told them this story many times. The fact that Yen Sid was telling it meant that this was no fairy tale.  
“You see, Kingdom Hearts was protected by its counterpart, the ‘X-blade’, so that none could ever lay a hand on its mysteries” Yen Sid said.  
“But in time, the world was overrun by legions who wanted the light all for themselves, and the first shadows were cast upon the land. These warriors crafted ‘Keyblades’ in the image of the original ‘X-blade’ and waged a great war over Kingdom Hearts. We call this the ‘Keyblade War”  
Hikari bit her lip, seeing images of an empty field surrounded by forgotten Keyblades. She could only imagine how many lives were lost in that battle.  
“Though the war extinguished all light from the world- “  
“The darkness could not reach the light inside the hearts of children” Hikari finished.  
Her mother had told her that story so many times, she remembered each line of it.  
Yen Sid nodded gravely.  
“With that light, the world was remade as we know it today, with countless smaller worlds shining like stars in the sky. As for the X-blade, it did not survive the battle. The two elements that created it, one of darkness and one of light shattered into twenty-six pieces; thirteen of light and thirteen of darkness”  
Yen Sid closed his eyes, thinking of how Xehanort tried to recreate the X-blade using Ven as a vessel. Just like Lumen, he too was a tool used for his ambitions.  
“And as for the source of all light-the one true Kingdom Hearts-it was swallowed by the darkness, never to be seen again. If it remains there, even the brightest world will have its dark corners. After all, light begets darkness, and darkness is drawn to the light. For this reason, some decided to use the Keyblade-a weapon designed to conquer the light-to defend the light instead. These are the first heroes of the Keyblade”  
Riku squeezed Hikari’s hand tightly. He didn’t know what to expect after hearing all of this, but he would never let anything happen to Hikari. He almost lost her thanks to Xehanort and he didn’t want that to happen again.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Riku groaned when he felt something gently nudged his face. Opening his eyes, he saw his Pegaslick Dream Eater hover near his worriedly. Smiling, he patted its face, showing he was fine.   
With some help from the Yoggy Ram, he managed to get back on his feet.   
“What happened? Did I fall asleep?”  
He looked around to see both Joshua and Beat were gone. He found it a little unsettling that they just vanished when he blacked out, but he had more important things to worry about. He still needed to find Sora and Hikari. Not only that but find out about this rouge in the black coat. If it was someone from the Organization, he needed to find out fast. He didn’t want anything to happen to Sora or Hikari.  
‘I know they can take care of themselves, but I don’t want them to get hurt” he thought.  
He was pulled from his thoughts when he saw a girl running away from a group of Nightmares.  
“Hey, do you mind?” she scoffed as they chased her into the first district.  
Riku’s Pegaslick quickly followed the girl, wanting to help.  
“Hey, come back!” Riku called out.  
The Yoggy Ram head butted into Riku’s back, shoving him towards the first district. It seemed that it too wanted to help, but it wanted Riku to help as well.  
“Alright, I’m going, I’m going” he said.  
He was gonna help anyway, but he found it ironic that his Dream Eaters were acting like the people that they were based on.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
When he reached the first district, he found his Pegaslick protecting the girl from the Nightmares. Rushing over to them, he joined the fray and helped his Dream Eaters get rid of the Nightmares. When the Nightmares were gone, the girl slowly approached him.  
“Seriously, thanks. I’m Shiki by the way. How ‘bout you?”  
Riku took a step back when Shiki came too close. Ever since Hikari became his girlfriend he made sure he wasn’t too close around other females. Maybe it was because he wanted to show he was taken…or because he knew Taiyouko would kill him if she found out he was by other girls.  
When Shiki tilted her head, waiting for an answer, Riku cleared his throat.  
“It’s Riku” he said.  
Shiki smiled and held her cat plush close.  
“Thanks, Riku”  
Riku nodded and started walking away.  
“Sure” he said, thinking that was that.   
Apparently, Shiki thought differently. The girl pouted before she ran after him.  
“Hey! That’s it? You chat up a girl then just say ‘sure’ and walk off?”  
Riku sighed as he hung his head. He had thought Taiyouko could be annoying when she pouted but Shiki was starting to prove him wrong.  
“I’m bad at this, sorry” he said.  
“Look, it’s not safe here. You should go home”  
Shiki placed a hand on her hip in annoyance.  
“If it’s dangerous, how can you just leave me here?” she pointed out.  
“Aren’t you my knight in shining armor? Well?”  
Riku chuckled a little and held up Hikari’s necklace.  
“Sorry, I’m already someone’s knight and I don’t place to relinquish that title”  
Shiki sighed while muttering ‘figures’ under her breath. She soon perked up and started walking ahead.  
“Well, what are we waiting for? The sooner you get me home, the sooner I’ll be safe”  
Riku sighed and hung his head. This was not how he thought his exam was gonna go. Looking at his Dream Eaters, he saw they were waiting for his command.  
“Well? What should we do?”  
The Pegaslick made a noise before following Shiki. Riku looked at the Yoggy Ram and shrugged.  
“Guess that answers that question”   
With that, Riku found himself being a bodyguard.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Walking with Shiki was…interesting. And by interesting, Riku wondered how someone could talk so fast. It seemed that Shiki didn’t like the silence and decided to chat up a storm.  
It made Riku realized how thankful he was that he had King Mickey and Taiyouko as traveling partners. They knew when it was good to talk and when they needed a moment to relax and think.  
Shiki looked at Riku when she saw that wasn’t saying much and pouted. What was it with guys and talking? Surely this guy had something he enjoyed talking about, right? Smirking slightly, she thought of something that would make him talk.  
“So, Riku…do you have a girlfriend?”  
Riku tripped over his feet and looked at Shiki. The girl giggled when she saw his face blushing.  
“Excuse me?” he managed to say.  
“You mentioned that you were someone else’s knight, so I figured you had a girlfriend. So, do you?” Shiki asked.  
Riku turned away as he tried to control the blush on his face. Why did he have to act like an idiot when someone mentioned Hikari?  
‘Because you love her, that’s why’ he thought.   
Sighing, he decided to amuse her. If he told her about Hikari, then maybe she would leave him alone.   
“Yeah, I have a girlfriend and I love her very much. I can’t imagine life without her in it”   
Shiki giggled, finding it amusing that Riku was getting embarrassed.  
“She must be very special then” she said.  
Riku smiled and held Hikari’s necklace.  
“You have no idea”  
When they made it to the fifth district, Shiki spotted something up by the greenhouse.  
“Over there!” she said as she ran.  
Riku panicked a little. She made a big deal about going off on her own and now she decided to run off.   
“Hey! We should stick together!” he called out.  
Sure, enough he heard Shiki yell out in fear, signaling that she was in trouble.   
“Perfect” Riku groaned.  
He hurried over to where she went, wondering if she had any common sense.   
“You can’t expect me to- “he stopped short when he saw that Shiki wasn’t around the corner, but rather the rouge in the black coat instead.  
Riku felt his blood go cold, realizing that things were about to take an ugly turn.   
“How did you get here?” the mysterious figure asked.  
Riku glared at him and summoned his Keyblade.  
“Who are you?” he ordered.  
The mysterious figure ignored him and proceeded to walk towards him.   
“By choice or chance?” he taunted.  
“You cannot control what you’re not aware of. This wakeless sleep with be your prison…to wander forever”  
Riku gripped his Keyblade tightly. He didn’t know what he was talking about, but he didn’t like the sound of it.   
“What do you mean?”  
“Riku! Don’t you listen to that punk!” Beat called out.   
He ran over with Shiki in tow.  
“Shiki’s gonna be fine! She told me whassup”  
He glared at the mysterious figure and jabbed a finger at his direction.  
“Hoodie here set this whole thing up, yo. He promised to send Shiki back to our world, and you was the cost of travel. Yo, this is seriously one half-baked excuse for a mission. Betchu isn’t even a reaper”  
Riku turned to the mysterious figure and glared at him.  
“All right, who are you?”  
The mysterious figure lowered his hood, revealing himself. He smiled darkly at Riku as if he knew something.  
“I’m the one who shall make your nightmares become a reality”  
With that, he summoned the Hockomonkey Dream Eater and sent it into the greenhouse before disappearing himself.  
Shiki looked upset, knowing this was all her doing.   
“I’m really sorry, Riku” she said.  
Riku gave her a sympathetic look. He couldn’t be that mad at her. He once used dark measures to get what he wanted; not knowing of the consequences they would bring. She was just lucky no one got hurt.  
“It’s alright” he said. He looked at Beat seriously.  
“Beat, watch her”  
He looked at his two Dream Eaters and gave them a nod.  
“Alright you two. Let’s go show this Nightmare who’s boss”  
He quickly ran inside, hoping he could take care of the Nightmare before it got out of hand.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Seeing the Hockomonkey in such a tight area showed that Riku was going to have a difficult time defeating it. He tried looking for a weak spot on the Nightmare and sadly found it was only its head. While the rest of the body was protected, the head was left wide open. Go figure.   
How was he supposed to attack it without getting hit in the process?  
‘Come on, Riku, think. What’s the best way to defeating this thing?’ he thought.   
Just then, a projection of Hikari ran past him and faced the Hockomonkey.   
“Hikari?!”  
Hikari didn’t seem to hear him since she summoned her Keyblade to fight. Riku panicked and ran towards her, fearing that she would get hurt if she faced this thing alone.  
“Hikari, don’t! This thing is too powerful to face alone! I’ll take care of- “  
He stopped short when his hand went through Hikari’s body. Suddenly, he remembered Joshua’s words from when he first met him. If Hikari or Sora weren’t here, then that meant they were in a different version of Traverse Town.  
‘So Hikari’s here in the greenhouse…but it’s within a different Traverse Town’   
So, in other words she was fighting this Dream Eater as well. He panicked, thinking she had to fight on her own, but he saw her projection running around, using the greenhouse to help her fight. Looking around the greenhouse, he started to come up with an idea as well to defeat this Dream Eater.  
‘I don’t know if you’re trying to give me a hint, Hikari, but I’m following your lead’  
Forming a plan, he started to take action. Instead of full on attacking the Nightmare, he started running up the bridge leading to the upper level of the greenhouse. The higher he got meant the better chance he would have at attacking the head.   
He was half way to the second level when the Hockomonkey slammed its fists into the walkway, preventing Riku from going any further. The Nightmare raised its fists again to crush him, only this time it was blocked by the Yoggy Ram.   
The tough spirit blocked the Nightmare’s fist it with its horns and pushed it back with defensive magic. Riku patted the Ram’s neck in gratitude and looked at the ramp. He tried to figure out how to get to the other side without having the jump over the huge gap.   
“There has to be another way to get to the top”  
He got his answer when the Pegaslick swooped underneath him, so he ended up sitting on its back before it flew off into the air. Now being higher up, Riku had a clear shot of getting towards the Nightmare’s head.  
Jumping off the Pegaslick, he slammed his Keyblade into the Hockomonkey’s head. The Nightmare dissolved into dark particles as it vanished from the area.   
Sighing with relief, Riku looked at his Dream Eater companions.   
“I owe you two a lot for helping me. I have a feeling this wouldn’t have ended well if you hadn’t stepped in”   
The Dream Eaters made various noises, showing their happiness. Riku crossed his arms as he thought of something.   
“If we’re gonna travel together, I suppose I should give you guys some names. It’ll be weird if I talk to you or if we’re in a fight and I need your help”   
He mulled some names in his head for a moment before he found the perfect ones that fitted each Dream Eater perfectly.  
“I’ll call you Sunny” he said to the Yoggy Ram.  
“And your name will be Hika” he told the Pegaslick.   
Both Dream Eaters jumped around, happy that they had names finally.  
Riku smiled as well, finding their happiness to be contagious. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hikari’s projection leaving the greenhouse. It seemed she finished her battle as well.  
“Where are you off to now, Hikari?” he asked himself.  
He followed his girlfriend’s projection, wondering what was happening in her version of Traverse Town.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Hikari’s projection wasn’t the only one Riku saw when he left the greenhouse. He saw Sora’s projection as well as Neku and Rhyme’s standing next to her. Shiki and beat were reacting in a similar fashion as how Riku did when he first saw Hikari’s.  
“Hey, what is this?” Shiki asked.  
Beat groaned in frustration as he looked at Rhyme’s projection.  
“This is so messed up, man! She’s right here in front of me and…I can’t reach her!”  
He tried grabbing Rhyme, but his hand simply went through her.   
Riku felt Beat’s pain all too well. To be close yet so far from the one that was precious to you was a painful thing. He wasn’t with Hikari and yet he was at the same time. It was a connection that would never be broken. As long as someone had that connection, they would always find a way to each other again.  
“If your hearts are connected, you’ll reach her” he said.  
He looked over at Sora and Hikari’s projections. It seemed that he wouldn’t be able to see them right away with these exams, but he hoped that he would see them soon. He was sure that they could handle themselves on their own. They had fought many enemies before, so this should be a walk in the park.   
Looking at them, he gave them a soft smile.   
“You two be careful with this exam. I can’t be there to protect you, so you’ll have to stay strong…but then again you’ve both have always been strong”  
He saw Hikari’s projection hold her hand up as if trying to reach him. Even if they were far away from each other, their hearts always brought them back together. Smiling, he held his hand up, letting it touch hers. Even if she wasn’t there, he felt like she was.  
“I’ll try to get to you one way or another in the exams.” He said. “I promised you that I would never let anything bad happen to you while we took them, and I intend to keep that promise. Until I find you, please stay safe for me”  
He looked at Sora’s projection. He was sure that his best friend was facing similar obstacles with his exams as well.   
“You stay safe as well. I don’t doubt your strength, but this is a whole different game we’re playing now. Who knows what’s gonna happen in these exams. Until I find you guys, stay out of trouble”  
With those parting words, he turned to Sunny and Hika.  
“Alright, guys. Let’s see what this exam has in store for us:  
The trio left the Fifth District, knowing that the Mark of Mastery was in full swing. If beings such as that mysterious figure were roaming the Dream Worlds, then it was just as Yen Sid feared.  
‘I’ll make sure these Nightmares won’t become a reality” he vowed.  
Riku’s Mark of Mastery had officially begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Riku's exam has begun! What did that Mysterious Figure mean when he said he would make Riku's Nightmare's a reality? Guess we'll have to see as he continues his exam. 
> 
> And of course Riku would base his Dream Eaters after the two most important women in his life. Hopefully Taiyouko doesn't find out that Riku based the Dream Eater of her as a Ram lol.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this!


	4. Notre Dame: Hikari's side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikari arrives to her first world for her exam and notices right away that a creepy judge is trying to arrest an innocent gypsy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta say this is probably the longest chapter I've written for this story so far lol. Don't know if future chapters will be this long but we'll see what my mind has in store when I write out the next chapter lol. Also I didn't realize how much of a badass Hikari was until I wrote out this chapter. Maybe I'm just saying that because I wrote her but I'm just amazed to what she is now to what she was when this series started. 
> 
> Oh and after playing KH3 all I have to say is Holy Shit! Not to give anything away to those who haven't seen or played it yet but my god is this game good! There's still a few plot points that haven't be resolved yet but I can always patch that up lol.
> 
> Please enjoy the chapter!

Hikari was once again back in the crystal cave. She found Lumen sitting on top of one of the larger crystals, staring at her lap sadly. The poor girl looked so broken and sad as she picked up Terra’s lucky charm. Over the years it had lost its shine and color making it look old and worn out. The metal edge starting to rust after not being taken care of for so long.  
Slowly walking up to her, Hikari looked at Lumen with pity. She really wanted to help her, but she didn’t know what she was supposed to do.  
“That’s Terra’s charm, isn’t it?” she asked.  
Lumen nodded as she dropped the charm back in her lap. Just touching it made her sad. Hikari tried to give her a hopeful smile. Seeing her sad made her heart ache for some reason. It was as if she was feeling what Lumen was feeling right now.  
“You know, I have a best friend named Kairi who made a good luck charm like yours” she said.  
“She made it out of sea shells and gave it to Sora. It was their little promise to each other that he would always return it to her, so he could give it back to her. Is that why you have Terra’s? So, you’ll be able to return it to him and be together again?”  
Lumen closed her eyes and buried her head into her knees. Waving her hand, she projected another image on the large crystals.  
A memory of Lumen and Terra standing outside in the gardens sprang forth. Lumen was trying to tell Terra that she didn’t care that he wasn’t a Keyblade Master, that she was save with him just the way that he was. Terra on the other hand thought differently and was adamant that he became one, always saying that he couldn’t truly protect her unless he was a Master.  
That obsession would drive him to go to Xehanort, where he told him twisted lies and said what Terra wanted to hear. He told Terra he was fine as he was and that he should embrace the darkness within his heart instead of banishing it.  
Never did Terra or Lumen realize that these actions would soon lead to dire consequences.  
The light died down as the memory faded away. Lumen picked u Terra’s charm again, touching the rusted edge with her fingers. A tear fell down her face as she looked at the old charm.  
“If only he had listened to his heart…then maybe none of this would have happened”  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Hikari felt herself get jostled awake. Groaning, she slowly opened her eyes to see that she was laying on the back of her Pegaslick. It seemed that during their travels between the world of dreams, she ended up falling asleep.  
Stifling a yawn, she slowly felt herself waking up.  
“That must have been some ride. I don’t remember falling asleep though”  
Riki Bat fluttered in front of her, making squeaking noises as it talked to Hikari. She stifled a laugh as if she knew what it was saying.  
“Yeah, I guess it could be because we’re in the sleeping realms” she teased.  
The Pegaslick whinnied, signaling that they were almost at their next location.  
“There seems to be a lot of buildings in this world. Do you think you can take us to an open area, er…come to think of it, I haven’t given you a name yet”  
The Pegaslick snorted, showing that she was right.  
“Well, that won’t do. I can’t just say ‘you’ the whole time we’re taking this exam. Hmm, let me think”  
Looking at her Dream Eater, she noticed that it’s body was mostly in yellow and cream colors. Lumen’s outfit had a similar color scheme, now that she thought about it. This couldn’t have been a coincidence. She just had a dream regarding Lumen and now she realized her Pegaslick kinda looked like her? Well, no matter the situation, the Dream Eater needed a name, and Hikari found the perfect one based on this situation.  
“Lulu” she said.  
“I’m going to call you Lulu”  
The Pegaslick whined, showing it liked the name very much.  
“Alright then, Lulu. Take us down so we can explore this world”  
Lulu happily obliged and flew down closer to the old looking town below.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
The streets were empty as Hikari observed the town. For a place that had lots of homes, it wasn’t the liveliest. Walking down the cobbled road, she let her mind wander back to the dream she saw earlier.  
Lumen was showing her memories of Terra and the bond they shared with one another. It was obvious that they cared for each other, but Hikari noticed that even though Lumen kept telling Terra she was happy with the way things were, Terra craved more. He desired to be a Keyblade Master no matter what while Lumen thought it was just a stupid empty title.  
“It seemed like Terra wanted to be a Keyblade Master to prove that he was worthy…almost like how Riku feels about these exams” she said quietly to herself.  
She did agree with Lumen’s thinking about the title of Master though. What was so special about the title? Why was Yen Sid so persistent that she, Riku and Sora obtained it? Why was it so important in stopping Xehanort?  
Thinking such thoughts made her question her own credibility.  
“I wonder if I have what it takes to be a Master”  
Lulu turned to her and watched her closely. Hikari just smiled weakly; not caring that she was talking to her Dream Eater.  
“I really don’t know if I have what it takes to do this. I know this is something I need to figure out on my own, but I just don’t know how. How do I prove I have what it takes when I don’t even know what it requires to be Keyblade Master? I mean what’s the difference between that to what I am now?”  
This was what she had been thinking ever since the exam began. What was a Keyblade Master? Why was it so important? How was a title going to stop Xehanort and save Lumen?  
Lulu went up to Hikari and nudged her under the chin. She snorted a bit as she stomped her hoof. It was as if the Dream Eater was telling her ‘Cheer up’ or ‘Don’t give up yet’.  
Hikari smiled a little and rubbed the back of her neck.  
“You’re right, I shouldn’t be thinking this way. I mean I just started this exam” she chuckled.  
“And if I don’t pass and don’t become a Master, that won’t stop me. You don’t need a stupid title if you want to help others. I mean, I’ve helped a lot of people before and I wasn’t a Master then”  
Lulu snorted in agreement.  
Hikari smiled and held her fist up.  
“Alright! Let’s go prove that we have what it takes to pass this exam!.. even though I don’t know what we’re looking for in this world”  
Riki Bat frantically flew towards them and squeaked to get their attention. The little bat gestured towards something up ahead and they needed to go there right away.  
Sensing trouble was ahead, Hikari followed the bat to see what was wrong.  
Sure enough, she found two men harassing a young Gypsy woman. Judge Frollo glared darkly at Esmeralda as if she was the foulest thing on earth.  
“Where did you get that money, Gypsy woman?” he ordered.  
Esmeralda glared daggers as she held her bag close.  
“For the last time, I earned it” she snapped.  
“Gypsies don’t earn money. It’s obvious that you stole it” Frollo sneered.  
“And I’m sure you know a lot about stealing” Esmeralda scoffed.  
Captain Phoebus looked torn over what to do and which side to pick. It was obvious no matter which side he took, it was going to end badly.  
Hikari scoffed at the scene. Leave it to the guys to pick on a poor defenseless woman. She didn’t know what was going on, but she didn’t like how this Frollo guy was handling it. Since no one was going to save this woman, she decided to do it herself  
“AH! THEIVES! HELP, THEIVES!” she screamed.  
Frollo and Phoebus turned and ran as they heard her frantic cries.  
“What’s wrong?” Phoebus asked.  
Hikari tried to act scared and frantic, hoping it would take their attention away from Esmeralda.  
“S-some man just stole my purse!” she cried.  
“H-hey ran that way. Please, you must catch him, he took everything that I had!”  
“Calm down, ma’am. We’ll take care of this” Phoebus said.  
“Just stay here while we catch the thief”  
The two ran off, which gave Hikari the chance to act quickly. Running over to Esmeralda, she grabbed the woman’s hand.  
“Hurry, this way”  
The ran in the opposite direction, hoping to get as far away from the men as possible.  
Little did Hikari know was that Frollo had looked back and saw the whole thing.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
When they got to a safe distance, the two girls stopped to catch their breath.  
“I’m sure we’re okay now. I doubt that old geezer would be able to run fast anyway” Hikari said.  
Esmeralda chuckled, finding what Hikari said to be true.  
“Thank you for helping me. You didn’t have to do that”  
“Are you kidding? Those guys were harassing you when you didn’t do anything wrong” Hikari insisted.  
“Not according to Frollo. He thinks Gypsies are evil and do nothing but steal and perform witchcraft” Esmeralda said bitterly.  
Hikari looked at her thoughtfully. She didn’t sense anything bad coming from the gypsy woman. If anything, she sensed the opposite.  
“I don’t know what a gypsy is exactly, but I know for a fact that you’re not evil”  
Esmeralda smiled gently. It was obvious that no one said anything nice about her or her people. Just hearing something so simple from a young girl was like a breath of fresh air.  
“Thank you. I’m Esmeralda by the way”  
“Nice to meet you, Esmeralda. I’m Hikari. So why was that Frollo guy bugging you? I doubt you were stealing so I don’t know why he wouldn’t leave you alone”  
Esmeralda frowned as she looked away.  
“Judge Frollo has always hated Gypsies” she said.  
“Just because we’re different from him, he thinks we’re evil and must be dealt with. He’s been trying to arrest my people for years”  
She looked at the ground sadly.  
“What’s worse is that today is the Festival of Fools. It’s the only time of year where we can celebrate in the streets and not worry about being judged or arrested”  
She looked at Hikari sadly.  
“It’s supposed to be a day of fun, but Frollo sees it as a day to arrest as many gypsies as possible. How can I enjoy the festival when I have to worry about getting arrested?”  
Hikari looked at the gypsy sadly. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be targeted all the time, but it sounded scary. She just couldn’t leave her alone, knowing Frollo was going to bug her.  
“Tell you what. I’ll take you to the festival, so you don’t have to worry about this Frollo guy harassing you” she offered.  
Esmeralda looked at her surprised.  
“You would do that?”  
Hikari smiled as she nodded.  
“Of course. We girls need to stick together. Plus, this festival sounds like fun so I wanna see it”  
Esmeralda chuckled and motioned for her to follow.  
“It’s this way. Hope you’re ready to celebrate the Feast of Fools. It’s the one day where everything is the opposite”  
They headed off towards the festival was being held, hoping to have a grand old time and that Frollo wouldn’t show up.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
The festival was in full swing when the girls reached it. Everyone was being merry and having the time of their lives. Hikari had never seen a festival that was full of life like this one.  
Esmeralda smiled, feeling at home in this environment.  
“Welcome to the Festival of Fools, where everyone is a King and the Kings are clowns”  
Hikari laughed and took in the scene before her. They stood before a grand bell tower that just oozed with power and significance. Something about the building gave Hikari a weird vibe but she deiced to ignore it.  
Looking around the festival, she started to grow a little worried. Whenever there was a large group of people, bad things tended to happen. She always remembered that happening with the Heartless and she feared it would be the same with the Nightmares.  
Turning to Esmeralda, she gave the gypsy a fake smile.  
“I’m going to check this festival out. Do you think you’ll be okay on your own?”  
The gypsy nodded.  
“Of course. Oh, and if you ever run into trouble just head into the bell tower” she warned.  
“They say it’s a place of healing and safety”  
Storing that information away, Hikari turned to her Dream Eaters.  
“Search the area for any Nightmares. I have a feeling they’re hiding somewhere”  
Scanning the crowd, she kept an eye out for the creatures.  
“I don’t know if this is part of the exam but I’m sure a Master must have a sharp eye when it comes to danger” she said to herself.  
These were one of the times that she wished Sora, Donald and Goofy were with her. If one of them sensed that something was off, they could always count on the others to keep an eye out. They always had each other’s backs in sticky situations.  
Shaking her head, Hikari quickly rid herself of those thoughts.  
“They’re not here now, so it’s up to me to take care of myself. I need to show them I have what it takes and that I don’t need to depend on them for everything”  
She didn’t realize someone was behind her until they grabbed her arm. Spinning around, Hikari was face to face with Frollo. To say that the judge was livid was an understatement. Hikari could have sworn that she felt flames coming off him.  
Laughing nervously, she tried to give him a fake smile.  
“Oh, it’s you! Were you able to find my purse?”  
“Filthy vermin!” Frollo spat.  
“I saw you helping that gypsy woman escape. It’s obvious that you’re in league with her”  
Hikari let her smile drop as she gave him a glare to match his own.  
“So, what if I helped her? You’re the one accusing people they’re doing something wrong simply because they’re different than you. If I saw anyone being harassed by you, I’d help them, Gypsy or not”  
Frollo growled, gripping her arm tighter.  
“Talk like that is going to get you arrested, young lady”  
Hikari scoffed and yanked her arm away.  
“Please, as if you would be able to arrest me” she taunted.  
A commotion soon erupted from the Festival as people screamed. Turning to the source, Hikari was horrified to see that the Nightmares were attacking the city.  
Sidestepping Frollo, she ran to get rid of the horrid creatures.  
“Stop right there! You’re under arrest for assisting a Gypsy thief!” Frollo barked.  
Hikari gave the judge a disgusted look.  
“The city is being attacked by monsters and you’re more concerned about arresting me? No wonder people run away from you”  
Summoning her Keyblade, she ran into the fray to stop the Nightmares from ruining the festival. Lulu and Riki bat hovered near their mistress, waiting to trample their enemy.  
“Let’s do this!”  
Going into Wisdom mode, Hikari cast blizzard to her boots and skated across the ground. Stunning a few with Thunder, she smirked when she saw Lulu charge through them like a battering ram. The two teamed up as they charged through the streets, clearing the area of the nasty Nightmares. When she spotted a few flying ones, she whistled for Riki Bat and went into action. Creating a ramp made of ice, she skated off it and flew up, grabbing onto the little bat’s feet. Flying through the air, Hikari gripped the bat’s feet with one hand while she slashed at the pesky Nightmares. When the sky was cleared, she flipped to the ground and reverted to her regular form.  
Seeing that the danger was over, Esmeralda came out from her hiding spot and grabbed Hikari’s hand.  
“Quickly! We’ll be safe inside the Church”  
The two ran for Notre Dame, hoping to get away from the Nightmares. They almost made it inside when Frollo grabbed Hikari and tried to pull her away.  
“Witch! I’ll have you hanged for the use of dark magic!” he cried.  
“I just saved your life, and this is how you repay me?!” Hikari spat.  
Frollo growled. Darkness seemed to ooze out of him.  
“I’ll be damned if I let filth such as you roam the streets. For all I know you summoned those creatures!”  
Esmeralda pulled Hikari away and edged them closer to the doors of the Church.  
“We claim sanctuary. Leave us alone!” she ordered.  
Frollo stalked closer to them as if they were prey.  
“I’ll have you hanged, mark my words” he threatened.  
Before he could do anything, Phoebus stopped him.  
“Sir, you can’t harm them. They claimed sanctuary” he said.  
“You know the law of the Church. Anyone who claims sanctuary is given safety within the Church. It’s out of our hands now”  
Frollo growled, hating the fact that he was tricked. Glaring at the two girls, he slowly backed away.  
“Very well, I won’t harm you so long as you’re within the safety of Notre Dame” he said.  
“However, if either of you take one step out of this Church, you’re mine”  
Hikari blew a raspberry at the judge as she and Esmeralda ran within the safety of Notre Dame.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Locked inside the Church, the two girls let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding.  
“That was close. I wasn’t expecting that to work” Esmeralda said.  
Hikari slowly walked further into the Church seeing that it was empty.  
“Are you sure we’re safe here?”  
Esmeralda nodded as she walked around.  
“Frollo may be a judge, but he has no power when it comes to Notre Dame” she explained.  
“If anyone claims sanctuary then they’re given automatic protection. Frollo can’t go against the law of the Church no matter how much he wants to”  
She sighed sadly at their predicament.  
“Even if we’re safe here, we’re also trapped. I’m sure Frollo is going to have guards at every door so we can’t escape”  
“We’ll find a way out. In the meantime, let’s just catch our breaths and think of something” Hikari said.  
The two of them walked around, looking at various sculptures and paintings. Hikari walked a bit until she saw a huge stain glassed mosaic that was built within the highest point of the Church.  
The light coming through it poured out and coated the floor, making a masterpiece of its own. Hikari looked at the mosaic, recalling seeing something similar.  
In a dream that felt very, very real.  
Hikari looked up and saw a small ball of light floating towards her. Smiling, she waved towards it, showing it was ok to come over.  
“Hey, cam you hear me?” she called out.  
The ball of light glowed, responding to her voice.  
‘I heard your voice. It cut through the darkness around me’ it said.  
Hikari held her hands up and let the light rest within them.  
‘I almost though that hope was lost, that I would never see the ones I loved ever again…but then I heard you calling out to me. You gave me hope when I thought it was too late. You became my ray of light’  
Hikari tilted her head.  
“I did?”  
‘Yes…but I’m afraid I have to go to sleep for a while’  
Hikari looked at the light sadly.  
“You sound sad. Are you ok?”  
The light chuckled.  
‘No, just a little…lonely. Would it be ok…if I stayed with you for a tiny bit?’  
Hikari smiled brightly at the thought of helping someone.  
“Of course, you can!” she said.  
“If you’re with me, I’ll make sure you’re never lonely again! We’ll have lots of fun and do things where you won’t have to think about being lonely again. We’ll be best friends!”  
The light glowed with happiness.  
‘Thank you…maybe this is why…I made you my successor’  
The light floated within Hikari’s chest and merged with her heart. Hikari placed her hands over her heart and smiled contently. She was glad that she was able to help someone out.  
Hikari closed her eyes as she placed a hand over her heart. She could still feel the warmth that light gave off. That soft, gentle warmth that made her feel safe.  
“I’ll keep you close. I’ll keep you safe” she promised quietly.  
Behind one of the pillars, Lulu watched her master with a very sharp eye.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
After searching around the Church for a bit, the girls met up again.  
“Did you find a way to get out of here?” Esmeralda asked.  
Hikari shook her head sadly.  
“All the doors I found lead to the outside but I’m sure Frollo has those guarded.  
Esmeralda sighed tiredly.  
“There has to be a way out of here”  
Hikari looked around the Church, hoping to find someone.  
“Maybe someone who tends to the Church would know” she said.  
“I’m sure there’s a secret passageway that only they would know about”  
The sound of something dropping caught their attention. Turning they saw a disfigured man trying to pick up a torch that got knocked over.  
“Hey you!” Esmeralda called out.  
The man jumped at being spotted and quickly ran away.  
“Wait, come back!” the gypsy cried.  
She quickly ran after him going towards the upper part of the Church.  
“Esmeralda, I don’t think that’s a good idea!” Hikari called out.  
She quickly went after her, hoping that whoever this stranger was, was friendly.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Racing up hundreds of stairs, Hikari found herself up within the bell tower of the Church. Looking through the rafters, she spotted Esmeralda holding her hand out to someone.  
“Esmeralda, you shouldn’t run off like that” she scolded as she climbed up a nearby ladder.  
“What if that was Frollo trying to take us outside so he could arrest us? You need to be more care- “  
She stopped when she saw the disfigured man from before. He hid within the shadows as if he was afraid of them.  
“Please don’t be scared” Esmeralda said.  
The man poked his head out from behind the curtain he was hiding in.  
“W-who are you?” he asked.  
Hikari took a step towards him, showing they meant him no harm.  
“We’re just taking refuge here in the Church for a bit. We mean no harm” she explained.  
“I’m Hikari and this is Esmeralda. Who are you?”  
“I-I’m Quasimodo. I’m the bell ringer for Notre Dame”  
Well this was good news. If he worked here, then that meant he had to know a way out of the Church.  
“Is that so? Do you think you could help us?”  
Quasimodo looked shocked that someone wanted his help.  
“M-me? You want my help?”  
“Well, sure. Why wouldn’t we?” Hikari asked.  
Quasimodo was quiet for a moment before he finally revealed himself.  
“Because I’m a monster. No one wants help from one”  
The girls looked at him sadly. It seemed like someone told him he looked like a monster, making him nervous about his appearance. Whoever this person was, was the real monster.  
Esmeralda gave the hunchback a gentle smile as she offered her hand.  
“You’re not a monster” she said.  
“Yeah, you actually look adorable” Hikari added.  
Quasimodo looked surprised. No one had ever said he didn’t look hideous let alone adorable.  
“R-really?”  
The girls nodded.  
“Now why don’t you come over by us? We don’t bite” Esmeralda teased.  
Quasimodo smiled and walked over towards them. Hikari looked at the table that was near her and saw a bunch of wooden carving. It was like a mini replica of the town right in front of her.  
“Did you make all of this, Quasimodo?”  
The hunchback blushed as he nodded.  
“I wish I had this kind of talent. It would pay better than dancing for coins” Esmeralda said.  
Hikari looked around the room and noticed everything was filled with color and art. It was a stark contrast to the bottom portion of the Church.  
“It’s like you have your own little world up here” she said.  
Quasimodo looked at his hands sadly.  
“I can’t go outside so I had to create my own version of it inside” he said.  
Hikari looked at him sadly.  
“Why can’t you? Surely it’s not because you work here is it?”  
The hunchback shook his head.  
“My master Frollo told me that I’m- “  
“FROLLO?! You know him?!”  
Quasimodo nodded in confusion.  
“Y-yes, he’s my master. He rescued me when my mother abandoned me as an infant” he explained.  
Hikari and Esmeralda exchanged disgusted looks. So not only did Frollo have a problem with gypsies, he also didn’t accept people who looked different either.  
“Is something wrong?” Quasimodo asked.  
“Frollo is the reason we’re trapped here” Esmeralda said.  
“He tried to arrest us because she’s a gypsy and I used magic trying to save the town” Hikari explained.  
“If we step out of the Church we’re done for”  
Quasimodo was shocked. He never expected his kind master to do something so extreme as to wanting to arrest two girls.  
“I don’t understand…why would he do such a thing?”  
Hikari looked at him seriously.  
“Because he’s someone who wants things to be his way. If they’re not perfect or to his liking, then they must be bad. That’s why he wants to get rid of us…and why he wants you here in the Church”  
Quasimodo flinched. She was right. Frollo always forbid him from leaving Notre Dame. He kept saying everyone was cruel and would see him as a monster. But deep down he knew it was because he didn’t want to be associated with a monster.  
Esmeralda went to him with pleading eyes.  
“Can you please help us? We can’t stay here locked up wondering when Frollo will leave us alone”  
Quasimodo didn’t say anything for a while which made them wonder if he would help them or not.  
The sound of someone coming up the stone stairs alerted them that they were not alone. Summoning her key blade, Hikari jumped down to the main platform to go meet with their ‘guest’.  
“Stay here, I’ll see who it is” she said.  
‘If it’s Frollo I’m going to disfigure him so bad that people think he’s one the gargoyles for this church’  
Creeping down the stone steps, she kept an ear out for their intruder. Whoever this person was, they weren’t going to know what hit them.  
When she heard the steps grow closer, she went into action and slammed her Keyblade down on them, only for it to be blocked by a blade. She was shocked to see Captain Phoebus trying to fend her off.  
“You?! What are you doing here?!” she exclaimed.  
She suddenly realized that he was probably going to arrest her and grew mad.  
“Oh no, you’re not going to arrest me, buddy. I’ll kick you down to the bottom of the church before I let you do that”  
Phoebus gripped the side of the stairway when he saw Hikari was going to stay true to her threat.  
“Easy, I’m not here to arrest you. I’m just here to talk”  
“Yeah right, why should I believe someone who follows that Frollo creep?” Hikari spat.  
“I made sure he didn’t arrest you outside the Church, at least give me that” Phoebus pleaded.  
Hikari gave him a hard gaze but lowered her Keyblade.  
“Fine. You have five minutes to explain why you’re here so make it fast”  
“I didn’t mean to have you, or Esmeralda trapped in here, but it was the only way to keep you safe from Frollo” Phoebus said.  
“I wish there was more that I could have done but going against Frollo would have gotten me arrested too”  
“I think that would have been better than acting like Frollo’ s little pet” Hikari said.  
Phoebus just sighed.  
“Look I just came here to warn you about Frollo. He may abide to Notre Dame’s law, but he isn’t patient. If you two don’t leave the Church grounds he’ll end up making you and I’m sure you know what will happen after that”  
Hikari narrowed her eyes at what Phoebus was implying.  
“So, you basically want us to turn ourselves in, is that what you’re saying?”  
“No, what I’m saying is that if you think about leaving these grounds then make sure you don’t get caught. Frollo has eyes everywhere” Phoebus warned.  
Hikari raised an eyebrow at the Captain. This man was obviously Frollo’ s lackey and yet here he was trying to help her.  
“Why are you even helping us?”  
Phoebus simply shrugged.  
“I don’t really know, but I can tell that you’re a good person. Plus…it’s just something that my heart is telling me to do”  
Hikari cracked a smirk for the first time since seeing Phoebus.  
“You should listen to it more. I would rather listen to that than what Frollo has to say”  
Phoebus just shrugged as he slowly descended the steps.  
“You never heard any of this from me” he warned.  
“What? You mean that a Captain was helping criminals? As if anyone would believe that” Hikari teased.  
Phoebus just waved as he went down the steps.  
Hikari tilted her head as she thought of the Captain.  
“Hmm, guess he’s not such a bad person after all…although he isn’t really sharp since he’s following Frollo”  
She quickly headed back up the steps where her friends were.  
“I don’t know how I’m going to explain this to Esmeralda. We need to act fast before Frollo does anything”  
Reaching back to the rafters, Esmeralda and Quasimodo looked at her with worry.  
“Is everything alright?” Esmeralda asked.  
Hikari thought back to Phoebus. There was no way Esmeralda would believe that the Captain was trying to help them, so she had to come up with a lie and fast.  
“Those monsters from the square earlier are in the Church” she said.  
It wasn’t that big of a lie. The Nightmares seemed to appear just about anywhere so why would Notre Dame be off limits?  
The gypsy paced around the room. “We’re not safe in the city because of Frollo and we’re not safe in Notre Dame from those monsters”  
Hikari rubbed her neck. It seemed they were in a predicament. The Dream Eaters wouldn’t be a problem for Hikari since she could get rid of them, but she worried for Esmeralda. She couldn’t stay on this world forever. What would happen to the young gypsy if Frollo decided to drag her out of the church?  
“Is there anywhere else that’s safe besides Notre Dame? Somewhere that Frollo can’t find you?”  
Esmeralda was quiet for a moment but nodded.  
“There is: The Court of Miracles. It’s a secret haven for Gypsies. Only problem is that it’s on the outskirts of town”  
“And with Frollo guarding the church it’ll be impossible to reach it” Hikari realized.  
Quasimodo was quiet for a moment. He hadn’t met these two for long, but they had been the first ones to not treat him like a monster. He didn’t know why his master wanted to arrest them, but he couldn’t let them be trapped here.  
“I know a way out” He said.  
The two girls looked at him seriously.  
“You do? But how? Frollo has a guard at every door” Esmeralda said.  
“We won’t use a door” Quasimodo said cryptically.  
He motioned towards the ledge of the building. The color drained from Hikari’s face at what the Hunchback was implying.  
“You mean we need to climb down?”  
Quasimodo nodded.  
“I know this church like the back of my hand. The guards won’t be looking up, so this is the only way”  
Hikari sighed wearily and looked at Esmeralda.  
“It’s your call. You wanna stay trapped here and risk Frollo trying to drag us out or do you wanna risk your life and climb down this tall building to freedom?”  
Esmeralda looked over the ledge to see how far up they were before taking a shaky breath. She looked at the other two with a determined look.  
“I’m willing to take that chance if it means that I’ll be free”  
“I can carry you down, but I can only do one at a time” Quasimodo said.  
Lulu decided to make her presence known and nudged Hikari in the back. The young Keyblade wielder caught on what the Dream Eater was implying and jumped on her back.  
“I have my own way of getting down, so I’ll follow you”  
Quasimodo went to Esmeralda and gently picked her up.  
“Follow me”  
Jumping over the ledge, the Hunchback slid down the roof before grabbing one of the statues and swung from them like they were monkey bars. Hikari followed closely as Lulu glided across the side of the building, staying close to Quasimodo.  
Hikari gripped Lulu’s neck as she peered towards the ground.  
‘I’m getting flashbacks to when I had to ride carpet in Agrabah’  
They made it to the back of the Church where Quasimodo dropped near the ground.  
“You should be able to get to the edge of the city if you stay in the back alleys” he explained.  
He set Esmeralda down carefully and fiddled with his hands.  
“Be careful out there”  
Esmeralda smiled and gently placed her hand on her shoulder.  
“Come with us” she insisted.  
“Yeah, you’ve always wanted to see the outside world so here’s your chance” Hikari offered.  
Quasimodo shook his head as he stepped closer towards the Church.  
“The outside world shouldn’t see a monster like me. It’s best if I stayed here”  
Hikari looked at him sadly. “How do you know what everyone thinks? Just because Frollo said something doesn’t mean that’s what everyone else thinks” she said. “You shouldn’t always listen to what people say. Sometimes…you just need to listen to your heart. It usually knows what to say”  
Quasimodo gripped his shirt tightly, letting Hikari’s words sink in.  
Esmeralda pulled something from her dress and gave it to him.  
“If you ever change your mind, use this. It’ll point you to where you want to go”  
Quasimodo took the trinket and tucked it into his pocket. They heard the guards approaching which alerted them that it was time to go.  
“Come on. We have to go” Hikari said.  
They two quickly ran through the back allies while Quasimodo sadly went back to Notre Dame.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
When they made it to the outskirts of the city, Esmeralda lead them to an old graveyard.  
“The Court of Miracles is hidden here. No one would ever think to look in a graveyard”  
They went to a mausoleum where Esmeralda stopped.  
“This is it” she turned to Hikari and motioned her to follow. “Normally, non-gypsies are forbidden from entering, but I can’t let Frollo catch you because of me. You’ll be safe here”  
They carefully stepped inside the abandoned tomb that acted as a secret passageway. As they walked through the narrow path, Hikari clung to Riki Bat, trying to combat her fear of the dark. As they continued to walk, Esmeralda decided to break the silence.  
“I’m really sorry you got caught up in all of this. I didn’t mean to make you a target for Frollo”  
Hikari shook her head as they continued walking.  
“You did nothing wrong. Frollo seems to be the kind of person who would arrest just about anyone. I’m sure he would have arrested me simply because I said hi to him the wrong way or something stupid”  
Esmeralda chuckled at that.  
“I should thank you though. You really helped me out today. Not everyone would stick their necks out and help a Gypsy, let alone help them escape”  
“Well none of them are as amazing as me” Hikari joked. “Besides, I’d always help a friend out if they were in trouble. It’s what I always do”  
They finally reached the Court of Miracles where the cavern was filled with light.  
‘Finally, I can see where I’m going. I don’t know how I’m going to make it back to the entrance though’ Hikari thought.  
“We should be safe here. Frollo doesn’t know of this place” Esmeralda said.  
Hikari sat down and stretched her aching limbs. Now that she didn’t have to worry about being chased around, she was finally able to collect her thoughts about this world.  
‘This world seems very messed up when it comes to judging people. If you don’t look like them or think like them then that means you’re evil’  
She hugged her knees to her chest. The way Frollo thought and acted reminded her a lot about Organization XIII and Xehanort. They thought that darkness was the answer to everything and if no one followed their beliefs then they had no trouble vanquishing them to the darkness. If Sora, Riku and herself hadn’t stepped in and stopped the Organization, then they would have harmed more worlds.  
It was a difficult and dangerous task, but it paid off greatly…so far at least.  
‘I wonder if that’s what this world was trying to show me? In order to be a Master, you have to realize that the right choice is never going to be the easiest’  
“Am I making the right choice?” she whispered.  
She was pulled from her musings when she heard a commotion.  
“Esmeralda! Hikari!”  
Phoebus and Quasimodo ran towards them, acting like their hair was on fire.  
“What are you doing here?” Esmeralda asked in alarm.  
“Phoebus and I came to warn you. Frollo’ s on his way!” Quasimodo cried.  
“Take what you can and leave” Phoebus added.  
“Is nowhere safe from this madman?!” Hikari asked.  
Phoebus held his hand out to them.  
“We’ll help you escape”  
Hikari gave him a questionable look.  
“What about Frollo? I thought you said you had to follow his orders?”  
Phoebus gave them a lopsided smirk as he shrugged.  
“I decided to listen to my heart. It said I was better off helping you than listening to Frollo”  
Hikari smiled a little. It was nice to know that someone listened to what she said.  
Before anyone could do anything, Nightmares surrounded them.  
“Well done, Captain Phoebus”  
Frollo approached them with an oily smirk on his face.  
“Thankfully, you are every bit as predictable as I had hoped”  
He turned to Quasimodo, giving him a dark smirk.  
“Dear Quasimodo. I always knew you would someday be of use to me”  
Quasimodo paled when he realized he was being used. Instead of helping his new friends, he walked them right into Frollo’ s trap.  
Hikari finally had it up to here with Frollo’ s antics. Summoning her Keyblade, she went to strike the wicked judge down.  
“You nasty, vile man!”  
Before she could attack him, a Nightmare pinned her to the ground. Darkness oozed off Frollo as he looked at her and Esmeralda.  
“I have you at last, you nasty witches”  
He grabbed Esmeralda and pinned her arms behind her back, so she wouldn’t escape.  
“There’s going to be a bonfire in the square and you two are the guests of honor”  
Hikari thrashed around, trying to free herself from the Nightmare’s clutches.  
“You’re never gonna get away with this! I won’t let you”  
Frollo chuckled darkly as the darkness around him grew.  
“We’ll see about that”  
The Nightmare holding Hikari hit her on the head. She slumped forward as the world around her grew black.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
When she came to, Hikari noticed something was very off. For starters she felt very, very warm. Secondly, she could smell smoke that was burning her throat. Groaning, she opened her eyes slowly to see fire was near her feet. Panicking she tried to move away from the flames but quickly realized that she was tied to a post.  
‘Is Frollo really planning to burn me alive?!”  
She saw Esmeralda was tied next to her. The gypsy woman wasn’t doing well. The smoke started to get to her and she couldn’t stop coughing. If she inhaled anymore of it, it would lead to something much worse.  
“I gotta get us out of here before we get burned alive”  
Struggling to move her hands, she was able to summon her Keyblade with some difficulty and cast blizzard on the fire. With the flames gone, Hikari’s next obstacle was to free both Esmeralda and herself from the post.  
Luckily help was near cause no sooner had she thought that, Quasimodo had swung from Notre Dame and came to their rescue. He ripped the rope that tied them down and picked up Esmeralda’s unconscious body.  
“Is she going to be okay?” Hikari asked.  
“She will be once she gets fresh air. We need to go inside the Church and get away from all this smoke” Quasimodo said.  
They ran for the safety of the Church, only to be stopped by the Wargoyle Nightmare. Knowing there was no way to get around the beast, Hikari summoned her Keyblade and faced off against the Nightmare.  
“Get Esmeralda to safety! I’ll take care of this”  
Quasimodo quickly fled into Notre Dame while Hikari tried to protect the city from the Wargoyle. If she thought the Hockomonkey was a challenge the Wargyole certainly proved her wrong. It had these massive wings and was able to fly all over the area, dodging Hikari’s spells as she fried them. She was able to land a few hits when it dared to get close, but it was smart enough to stay back.  
Hikari growled when it dodged one of her fire spells and flew around her.  
“I’ll never be able to get rid of this thing at this rate. If only I could use my Keyblade to throw at it or something”  
Riki Bat and Lulu quickly appeared before her, ready to aid her. Glowing brightly, they turned into balls of light before merging together as one. When the light faded they revealed themselves to be transformed into a crossbow.  
“You guys can transform into things?! That’s amazing!”  
Grabbing her Dream Eater turned weapon, she aimed it at the Wargoyle and fired an arrow at it. The arrow went through the Nightmare, causing it to cry out in agony. As it fell to the ground it dissolved into dark particles, never to be seen again.  
With the danger gone, Riki Bat and Lulu reverted to their normal selves. Hikari smiled as she patted their heads.  
“Now that’s what I call teamwork”  
The victory was short lived thought when she heard Esmeralda scream. Looking up at Notre Dame, she was horrified to see Quasimodo dangling from the tallest part of the church while Esmeralda held onto him for dear life. Frollo loomed over them with a crazed smile on his face as he held a sword high over his head.  
Fearing the worst, Hikari quickly jumped onto Lulu and urged her to fly up to the top of Notre Dame.  
Frollo laughed manically at the feared look in Esmeralda’s eyes.  
“And he shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit, forever!”  
Just as he was about to strike them, Hikari flew up and kicked Frollo hard in the chest. The judge dropped his sword as he tried to regain his balance. He lost his footing on the statue he stood on and grabbed onto it at the last second. However due to the sudden weight and movement, the statue broke off, causing Frollo to fall into the fiery pit below.  
Hikari wore a grim look on her face as she stared at where Frollo once stood.  
‘He vanquished the wicked alright…too bad he didn’t realize it was him this whole time’  
‘Hikari, help!” Esmeralda cried.  
She couldn’t hold onto Quasimodo any longer and she was losing her grip fast. Hikari rushed over to her and tried to help pull Quasimodo to safety.  
“Hang in there, Quasimodo!”  
Tried as they could, the Hunchback’s weight was too much for them and he slipped from their fingers. The girls screamed in horror as they watched their friend falling to his death. Yet as if by a miracle, he was saved as Phoebus grabbed him from a few stories down and pulled him to safety.  
Relived to see Quasimodo safe, Hikari and Esmeralda rushed to the lower levels and met up with their comrades. Esmeralda pulled Phoebus and Quasimodo into a hug. With Frollo finally gone, they were finally able to feel freedom.  
Hikari smiled softly at the scene. She was so glad that they didn’t have to feel afraid anymore now that Frollo didn’t have control over them. They were free to be themselves, free to do whatever their hearts commanded and free to experience new things.  
It seemed that this world was finally at peace.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Walking towards the entrance of Notre Dame, Hikari looked at her companions.  
“So, what happens now? You don’t have to worry about Frollo anymore, so what are you guys gonna do?”  
Esmeralda smiled brightly.  
“I can finally live my life of freedom!”  
“I’ll do what is right and listen to my heart” Phoebus said.  
“And I’ll go see what the outside work is really like” Quasimodo said.  
Esmeralda went up to Hikari and pulled her into a tight hug.  
“None of this would have been possible without you. Thank you so much for setting us free”  
Hikari returned the hug with gusto.  
“Of course. I’ll always be there when my friends need me”  
When they broke the hug, she gave her new friends a warm smile.  
“Now you guys go out there and enjoy your freedom!”  
As the trio went outside, Hikari looked at the mosaic from before. Stepping close to it, she let the light dance across her face.  
“To think that they almost perished before of Frollo” she said quietly. “If he had kept them prisoner for any longer, they might have ended up like him…just like he wanted”  
“Hypocrite. You’re no different from that corrupted judge”  
Hikari whipped her head around to see the Mysterious Figure from Traverse Town approach her.  
“You again?! What are you doing here?!”  
The Mysterious Figure ignored her and pointed towards her heart.  
“Your heart is just like this church. You may act and think it’s a haven for troubled souls, but deep down you know it’s no more than a prison, trapping lost souls from reaching their purpose”  
Hikari glared daggers at him. Who did he think he was to call her a captor? Clearly, he didn’t know what that was because there was no way that was her.  
“I don’t know where you came up with that idea but that’s not me” she said. “I don’t keep people hostage or prevent them from doing what they want. That’s clearly you”  
She turned away from him and looked back at the mosaic.  
“And if I was keeping someone ‘locked up’, it wouldn’t be for malicious reasons. If anything, it’s to keep them safe from the bad things out there” she cast the Mysterious Figure a nasty look. “Like you”  
The Mysterious Figure opened a Dark Portal behind him.  
“Believe what you will, it makes no difference. You’re nothing more than a walking vessel. Sooner or later those you are holding captive will break free and there will be nothing you can do to stop it”  
Hikari summoned her keyblade and aimed it at him.  
“Keep talking like that and I’ll have no problem locking you up!”  
They Mysterious Figure simply walked through the portal and closed it behind him.  
“What a creep” Hikari sighed.  
She looked up the mosaic again and let his words sink in.  
‘My heart isn’t a prison’ she thought. ‘If anyone feels like they need help and need a place to hide, I’ll always be there to keep them safe. Because that’s what my heart it: a safe haven’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooooo, did Hikari just kill Frollo?.....we'll just consider that as self defense since he technically tried to kill her first. So Lumen appeared again and showed Hikari who Terra was. Wonder what she's gonna show Hikari next time? And it seems that mysterious figure is trying to cause problems again. 
> 
> Please review and tell me what you think!
> 
> Take care!


	5. Notre Dame: Riku's side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku arrives at Notre Dame where he finds out things are not what they seem. Meanwhile a certain someone returns to the series.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back to Riku's side of the story! Its kinda fun seeing Riku and Hikari's perspective of their exams and the troubles they're trying to face. Now its Riku's turn to deal with the messed up Judge Frollo. Wonder if he'll be as savage with him as Hikari was lol.

Chapter 5  
Gripping onto Hika’s neck, Riku watched as the Dream Eater flew down to the newest world that was stuck in slumber. Looking at the buildngs, he noticed that the town was very old and seemed to be trapped within a different time period. This houses had thatched roofs while the roads were paved with cobble bricks. And the most noticeable part of the town was the giant catherdreal that stood in the heart of the town.   
Riku thought it was a nice piece of architect bet he sensed something off about the place.   
“Hey, Hika, think you can take us to that building? I wanna check something out”  
Hika whinned before flying over towards the chuch to see what the commotion was about.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
“Stop her!”  
Esmeralda ran away from Phoebus and Frollo as they chased her down the streets. When she reached a dead end, she gave them a sly smirk before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Just as that happened, Riku walked towards the scene and saw Esmeralda secretly run past him.   
Riku just shrugged and continued heading towards the church. When the smoke died away, Phoebus saw Riku and went up to him.  
“You there! Have you seen a gypsy woman?”  
Riku thought about the girl who ran past him before moments ago. He really didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t want to interfere. He highly doubted his exam involved arresting people.   
“Nope. Sorry” he said flatly.  
Phoebus sighed in frustration. He had a feeling he was going to hear that.   
“Alright, thanks”  
He went back to Frollo to give him the bad news.  
“I’m terribly sorry, sir. We’ve lost her”  
Frollo growled in frustration.   
“Slippery vermin” he spat.  
He gave Phoebus a nasty stare.   
“I’m beginning to question having summoned you back from the war, Captain Phoebus”   
He spun on his heel and walked away. Phoebus glared at the back of Frollo’s head but followed after him.   
When the coast was clear, Esmeralda came out from her hiding spot and approached Riku.  
“Thank you. You stood up for me” she said.  
“I’m Esmeralda”  
Riku just nodded in greeting.  
“Riku. I don’t know how I helped since I don’t know what a ‘Gypsy’ is to begin with”  
Esmeralda frowned as she looked away.   
“Judge Frollo has been hunting us for years” she explained. “We Gypsies are guilty of nothing but loving our freedom, yet Frollo hates whatever he can’t control. Now he’s even brought in fresh blood to tourment us. I’d hate to know what kind of darkness drives that man”  
Riku didn’t need to think too hard on that. He had seen men like that first hand way too many times.  
“I think I can imagine” he said. “Tell me more, was he always like this?”  
Esmeralda scoffed in disgust.   
“I don’t give Frollo much thought…but if you’d like, you could try Notre Dame. They say it’s a place for answers”  
Looking back at the church, it seemed Riku realized why he wanted to see it. Maybe it would give him clues about this Frollo guy, or maybe it could help him with his test.   
‘Either way, hopefully I’ll get some sort of answer’  
Motioning for Hika and Sunny to follow, the trio headed for the church in hopes of finding answers.  
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
It was rather dark inside the church. With candles being the only source of light, the whole place gave off an ominous vibe.   
Looking around the church, Riku tried looking for someone who would give him answers.  
“Is anybody here?” he called out.   
He heard some shuffling as someone peered from behind a column.  
“Who…who are you” someone asked.  
Riku turned to the source of the noise and walked towards it.  
“I’m Riku” he introcuded.   
The figure shuffled further behind the pillar as Riku grew closer.   
“Oh. M-my name is Quasimodo. I’m very sorry, but the Archdeacon is away” Quasimodo said.  
“Actually, I’m looking for a man named Frollo. Do you know where he is?” Riku asked.  
Quasimodo poked his head out a little but made sure he was hidden.   
“My Master? He said he had business on the outskirts of the city”   
Riku raised an eyebrow. This was the second person he ran into who knew about Frollo. It seemed he was famous on this world.   
“You mean you know him?” he asked.  
Quasimodo nodded slowly.  
“Oh yes, he’s….he’s very kind. Master Frollo saved my life. He protects me from the outside world”  
Riku frowned at Quasimodo’s choice of words.  
“He ‘protects’ you from it?” he questioned.   
Quasimodo was hesitant for a second but slowly stepped away from the coloumn he was hiding behind.   
“The people out there would be cruel to me. I’m a monster you know” he explained.  
While his features were quite different from others, Riku didn’t see a monster. If anything he saw a person who was being controlled by a monster that feed him horrible lies. And he didn’t need to think too hard on who that monster was.  
“Is that what Frollo told you?”   
When Quasimodo looked away that was all Riku needed for an answer.   
“Trust me, looks can be deceiving” he said.  
“A good friend sees you for who you are no matter what face you wear”  
He couldn’t help but think back when he was stuck in Ansem’s body and how Sora and Hikari accepted him, despite looking like their enemy. They were able to see what was behind the face and see him for who he really was.  
“You should go out there-find some friends who understand you”  
Quasimodo shook his head frantically, not liking that idea.  
“Oh no. My master forbids it. I’m not to step foot outside” he insited.  
Riku tilted his head; a trait he seemed to have picked up from Hikari.  
“Are you sure that’s what’s stopping you? Because I think something else is holding you back”  
Quasimodo turned away, clearly showing he had enough of what Riku had to say. As he slowly walked away, he could hear Riku giving him one last piece of advice.  
“Ask your heart, Quasimodo”  
With that, the bell ringer went upstairs, not wanting to be seen by anyone else.   
When he was by himself again, Riku sighed sadly.  
“Wish I could follow my own advice” he said to himself.  
‘Then again, if Hikari was here, she would know what to say’  
Hika went up to him and nudged his hand as if to say ‘cheer up’. Riku smiled a little and rubbed her neck.  
“Well, looks like we need to go to the edge of town to meet this Frollo guy. Might as well start heading there before he leaves”  
The trio left the gloomy church in order to search for this mysterious Frollo.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Walking to the edge of town was a quiet experience for Riku. He never saw people walking the streets or came across any nightmares.   
Hika huddled next to him as if not liking the atmosphere. Riku gave the Dream Eater a gentle smile as he patted her neck. It really was ironic how his Dream Eaters were acting like the two most important people in his life. Sunny tended to be protective but acted childish at times while Hika was gentle but had a fierce side when needed. Not only that she liked to be near Riku.   
Even though he wasn’t near Hikari or Taiyouko, he at least had some form of them with him.   
When they reached the bridge that connected the outskirts of the town to the city, they found out why everything was quiet.   
Flying in the sky was a large Wargoyle Nightmare.  
“A Dream Eater! And a big one!”  
The Wargoyle noticed the trio and started to attack. Riku hid behind a pile of boxes as the Nightmare swopped around the bridge.   
“Oh, like this is fair” he said sarcastically.  
He was at a disadvantage with being on a narrow bridge. He didn’t have a lot of room to attack and if he dodged one of the Nightmare’s attacks, then the bridge would be destroyed.  
Jumping from his hiding spot, he made a run for it. He ran as fast as he could off the bridge while the Wargoyle flew off to the outskirts of the city. It seemed that it too had business there as well.  
Running to Sunny, he jumped on the Ram’s back and urged it to go faster.   
“Come on! We need to go after it!”  
The trio ran down the dirt road as they went after the Nightmare, hoping to stop it before it caused any trouble.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
However trouble was already here as Phoebus aimed his sword at Frollo. The two of them were checking in on the local peasants to see if they had seen Esmeralda and the Captain couldn’t take it anymore. If the Judge planned on harming innocent people for his own ambitions, he would not stand for it.   
“Stand aside, Captain Phoebus” Frollo ordered.   
When the judge went to step forward, Phoebus held his sword higher, showing he would hurt Frollo if he came any closer.  
“What have these people done wrong?!” he demanded.  
“I have proof this family gave harbor to gypsies!” Frollo spat. He acted like this was the worse crime to commit.   
“That’s not a crime! They haven’t done anything wrong!” Phoebus insisted.  
“I can think of few crimes that are greater” Frollo said.  
Before Phoebus could attack, the Wargoyle appeared before them, hovering near Frollo.  
“What demon is this?!” Phoebus said.  
Frollo smiled darkly, darkness starting to ooze out of him.  
“Oh, you are mistaken, Captain Phoebus. This is no demon, this is righteous judgement! I have been granted this power so that I may smite all gypsies now and forever!”  
Phoebus looked at the judge in horror. Just how far did Frollo plan to make this madness real?  
“This is all wrong!” he insisted.  
Riku rode up to them and jumped off Sunny to aim his keyblade at Frollo. After seeing how he treated people like Quasimodo and Esmeralda, and how he planned to use the Wargoyle, he came to his own conclusion of what kind of person Frollo really was.  
“He won’t listen” he said. “Once you’ve fallen that far, there’s no coming back”  
“How dare you?” Frollo spat.  
“I am a virtuous man. Good and evil shall be made plain…once the gypsies face the fires of judgement!”  
Phoebus went to attack Frollo, hoping to stop the judge’s plans once and for all. When he was about to strike, the Wargoyle knocked him out of the way.  
Frollo laughed wickedly as he and his little companion left to give ‘judgement’ towards the gypsies.  
Riku went to Phoebus and helped him sit up. While he was just an underling for Frollo, the captain had a good heart and wasn’t swayed by the darkness.  
“You alright?”  
Phoebus groaned but nodded as he stood up.  
“Thanks. I gotta tell you, this is embarrassing…having to rely on a kid”  
Riku chuckled a little as he thought of Taiyouko. When they traveled together, nine times out of ten he was the one who was helping her. It didn’t matter that she was the adult and he was the kid, that was just the sort of friendship they had.  
“You wouldn’t be the first.” He said. “You should take it easy. I’ll deal with Frollo”  
Phoebus was hesitant at the idea but couldn’t help but agree.  
“I’ll admit, you look more capable than me right now” he admitted.  
“All right, be careful. It looks like that creature is heading for the cathedral”  
Riku nodded before jumping back on Sunny.  
“Alright guys, back to the cathedral”  
The trio ran back for the bell tower, hoping to stop Frollo from fulfilling his plans.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
The whole city was up in flames from Frollo’s destruction. In order to get rid of the gypsies, he planned to wipe them out all at once- including the city and the citizens who lived there.  
Riku knew he was fighting against time before the whole city burned to ashes. When he reached the bell tower he was alarmed to see Quasimodo holding Esmeralda in his arms. Had Frollo gone that far with his ‘judgement’?  
“Is she going to be alright?”  
Esmeralda nodded slowly, trying to fight off the smoke that tried to fill her lungs.  
“I’m fine, thanks to Quasimodo”   
Riku looked relieved to hear that. Now he could focus on the cause of the danger.  
“Quasimodo, where did the creature go?” he asked.  
The hunchback looked at the bell tower sadly, knowing his master was responsible for this.  
“It’s…it’s up there” he said.  
Riku nodded in understanding before taking off for the cathedral. Quasimodo looked at the ground for a moment before looking at Riku determinedly.  
“W-wait…wait, I’ll go with you!”  
This was his master’s fault and felt the need to fix it. Frollo had wronged him for so long and wouldn’t stand for it anymore.   
Riku stopped running and looked at Quasimodo. He could understand that the Hunchback’s intentions were pure but he didn’t need to be dragged in this further. He needed to get far away from Frollo’s madness.  
“Thanks, but stay with Esmeralda, she needs your help the most right now” he said.  
He turned away from them and gave the Hunchback one last parting question.  
“Quasimodo, did your heart have the answer?”  
With that, he ran inside to stop Frollo once and for all.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
With the Wargoyle close by, that meant the Nightmare’s were drawn to its power. The whole cathedral was overrun with them and Riku wondered how he was going to get rid of them quickly.  
Fortunately, some very unlikely allies were near as a trio of living gargoyles went about destroying them.  
“Well, I guess….you three got this covered” Riku joked.  
“It was a walk in the park” Hugo the gargoyle exclaimed.  
“How would you know? You don’t have any legs” Victor said.  
“Yeah but-aw, gimmie a break! It’s just a figure of speech!”  
“Both of you, pipe down!” Verne the female gargoyle said.  
“And get ready! Cause here come some more!”  
The trio of stone statues went to defend the cathedral which gave Riku the chance to take care of the Wargoyle.   
Running up the stone steps, he could feel the power of darkness growing stronger with each step he took.  
‘Frollo’s heart is drenched in darkness. It’s like it’s trying to suffocate him’ he thought.  
He needed to end this fast before it got any worse. Those who were drenched in Darkness ended up suffering terrible fates.  
When he finally made it to the top of the bell tower, he saw Frollo standing near the edge, laughing at the destruction he caused.  
“Yes! Let it burn! The flames will consume everything!” He cackled.  
“You see? This is the power that has been granted to me!”  
Riku glared at the judge darkly. He just about had enough of his so called ideal of purity.  
“All I see is a sad old man with a dark heart” he spat.  
Frollo growled as the darkness continued to consume him and eat away at his heart.  
“Again, you are wrong! Now you will be judged like the rest!”  
In a final act of madness, he threw himself off the bell tower to be eaten by the flames.  
“Judgement is mine!” he cried as the flames consumed him.  
Riku looked away painfully from the scene. Once again another soul ended tragically because of the darkness.  
“Such a pity, but then again he didn’t have any potential”  
Riku’s blood ran cold as he heard that voice. It was a voice he hoped he wouldn’t have to hear ever again.  
Turning around slowly, he saw the mysterious figure standing with Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness.  
“Ansem! Why are you here?!”  
“Your best friend is never far” the mysterious figure taunted.  
Ansem ‘tsked’ sadly at the scene before him.  
“So sad. The post of yielding to the darkness” he cooed.  
Riku growled knowing he was taunting him about almost becoming his puppet. To this day it still made him shiver to think he could have ended up like Ansem or even worse, Xehanort.  
“I’m sure you could write a book about that” he spat.  
Ansem laughed, knowing he hit a nerve with Riku.  
“But I embraced the Darkness-and unless you hurry up and learn to do the same, your story will end just like his”  
Riku growled and summoned his Keyblade.  
“I walk the road to dawn!” he declared.  
The Mysterious figure scoffed in disgust.  
“Still afraid of the dark I see” he said.  
“I wonder how your story is going to end with the path you’ve decided to take. Will it be happy or tragic?”  
With that, he opened a dark portal that he and Ansem went through, leaving Riku alone.  
Placing a hand over his heart, Riku could feel it beating frantically.  
“He’s think’s I’m afraid of the dark?” he asked himself.  
Gripping the fabric of his shirt, he shook his head, throwing away the doubts that filled his mind.  
“No, not while I have the Keyblade. It will guide me to the light and lead me to my story’s happy ending!”  
With that, he aimed his Keyblade at the Wargoyle, ready to show this creature what he said was true. The Wargoyle used it’s wings to its advantage. It would fly out of Riku’s range of attacks and could fly overhead for a counter attack.   
Riku fired off a few spells that he knew but they worked to no avail. It was a reminder that Hikari was more adapt to magic than both Sora and he were.  
Changing his battle plan, he moved further into the bell tower where he wasn’t out in the open and where the Wargoyle didn’t have a lot of room to move around. This didn’t phase the Nightmare since it just slammed its claws into the building, hoping to smash Riku in the process.   
Sunny fended the Nightmare off with its defensive magic but it was quickly showing that the ram couldn’t hold out for much longer. Riku dove behind a pillar when a claw slammed into the ground. He needed to end this fast before it destroyed the bell tower.   
Hika hovered near Riku, waiting for his next command. Since Sunny was busy keeping the Wargoyle at bay, the Pegaslick was focused on keeping Riku safe.   
Riku racked his brain with ideas to get rid of this Nightmare but the only one he could think of was aiming for the head. The only problem was trying to reach it when said creature could fly. Turing to Hika, he figured the Pegaslick would be able to do it since it was the only Dream Eater here that could fly.  
“HIka, think you can fly me up to the Nightmare’s head?”  
Hika tilted her head in confussion.  
“Fly, you know like what you did back in Traverse Town? I need to reach for the creature’s head”  
Hika looked deep in thought for a moment before doing something unexpected. In a flash of magic, the Pegaslick merged within Riku’s heart and caused wings to sprout from his back. Riku looked at the wings in shock. He didn’t realize his Dream Eaters could do that.  
“Now what I had in mind but I’ll take it”   
Using his new found power, he scaled the walls of the building and flew over the Wargoyle’s head.  
“Now you’ll have a taste of judgement!”  
Striking the Nightmare down, Riku watched as the Wargoyle let out a cry before falling down into the flames.  
Riku looked over the ledge deep in thought. He could have ended up like Frollo if he had stayed with the Darkness. He would have lost everything to power. Seeing what could have happened to him made him grateful that his friends were able to stop it.  
“I won’t let history repeat itself. Now as long as I have the Keyblade”  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
With the Wargoyle and Frolo gone, Notre Dame was at peace. The flames of destruction vanished and a new, freer life rose from its ashes.  
Quasimodo finally saw that he wasn’t a monster and that he had friends who saw him for who he really was.   
“Master Frollo-he made me live inside the bell tower, but the real walls were the ones I built around my heart” he admitted.   
“You helped me see that, Riku”  
Riku looked away shamefully, feeling like he didn’t desrve the praise.  
“I was…speaking from…personal experience” he said quietly.  
Once upon a time he too had walls around his heart. He didn’t want to show his friends how weak his heart was of that he was willing to do anything to see other worlds. Even going to far as to side with the darkness.   
“I’d say you still keep a locked inside” Phoebus said.  
“We all do that sometimes” Esmeralda admitted.  
“There are just some things we need to keep separate from the world at large, at least until we have time to figure them out”  
Riku nodded in agreement.   
“I do have a lot of things locked up, and maybe some of them will stay there forever, but…as long I have friends who understand me and are willing to take the time to help me understand everything….then I have nothing to worry about”  
“Then that’s all that matters” Esmeralda said.  
Riku smiled then turned to Quasimodo. He wanted to give the hunchback a few words to think on as he began his new life.   
“Even if your heart is still hiding behind some walls, you don’t have to be afraid. You have friends now who see you for who you really are and will help you become the person you wish to be. You’re not a monster, Quasimodo, so let the world see it”  
Quasimodo looked at his hands, actually seeing human hands for the first time. Riku was right, he wasn’t a monster and it was time for him to show it.   
“Thank you, Riku”  
Riku just smiled and turned to his Dream Eaters.   
“Alright guys, looks like our work here is done. Now we can just-hey wait….where’s Sunny?”  
Looking around for the Ram, Riku found Sunny near the steps of the cathedral. The poor thing had it’s ears back as Hugo the gargoyle tried making a move on her.  
“So, I was wondering if you were free by any chance? I thought we could have dinner and maybe get to know each other”  
Sunny back kicked the statue into the cathedral where Hugo had hearts in his eyes.  
“Oh, I like ‘em feisty!”  
Feeling disturbed, Sunny ran to Riku, where she hid behind him and shivered. Riku couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.   
“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to make some friends?”  
Sunny glared at him and headbutted him in the back.  
“I’m kidding. Now let’s head out before he asks for your number or something”  
They bid farewell to their new friends while Hugo shouted ‘Call me” to Sunny.   
As they walked away from the cathedral Riku had a lot of thoughts on his mind. He wondered why Ansem was with that mysterious person and why they were so bent on him joining the darkness. His path was not the same as theirs and he intended to keep it that way.  
“I know the road my heart walks’ He thought.  
He picked up Hikari’s necklace and smiled gently as his fingers wrapped around it.  
“And…I know who I want to share that path with’  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
“Hey, Axel. You haven’t forgotten right?”  
Axel looked at Roxas with a popsicle stick hanging from his mouth.   
“What?”  
Roxas smirked as he shook his head.  
“You made a promise” he said.  
“I did?”  
Roxas nodded.  
“That you’d always be there…to bring us back”  
Axel smiled a little as he remembered that promise.  
‘Yeah…best friends forever”  
Roxas stared off into the sunset, enjoying the peace that was rarely felt these days.  
“Yep, so you need to look after Ankoku for me since I can’t be there for her. She’ll probably refuse the help, but I know deep down she needs it.”  
Axel snorted as he thought of a certain foul mouthed Nobody.  
“Ankoku was always headstrong…even for a Nobody” he admitted.  
Roxas nodded in agreement. He suddenly turned to his best friend with a bright smile on his face.  
“Yeah…and ‘she’s’ also waiting for you too”  
Axel looked at Roxas as if he lost his mind.  
“Huh?”  
Roxas clasped his shoulder. The scenery slowly growing dark.  
“She’s waited for you long enough. Don’t keep her hanging”  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
The first thing that came to Axel’s mind was that he was resting on a cold floor. Groaning in discomfort, he painfully tried to will himself to wake up.  
“Where…where am I?”  
The last thing he remembered was fading into darkness after he helped Sora and Hikari make it to Xemnas’s strong hold. And with that the memories came pouring out of him.  
Memories of the Organization, of Roxas and Ankoku and when he was Lea poured into his head. But the ones that came to the forefront of his mind was of a certain raven haired beauty who was as alluring and mysterious as the moon.  
Someone who Axel cherished so deeply that he willingly scarified himself so that she would be safe.  
“Tsukiko!”  
Springing to his feet, he found himself in Ansem the Wise’s compute lab.  
‘How did I get here?’ he thought.  
Before he could take another stepp, he panicked when he saw his reflection in one of the lab’s windows.  
Rushing towards the glass, he touched the spot where the marking under his eyes were. Pulling his hand away he saw that they were gone. Another thing he noticed was the sudden beating within his chest. Pressing a hand there, he was shocked to feel a heartbeat.  
It seemed that Axel was not Axel anymore. He was human again. He was Lea.  
“I’m…me again”  
He couldn’t believe this. He never realized that he would have returned to his normal self after his Nobody had vanished. It had been so long since he had been Lea that it almost felt like a dream.  
When he heard noises behind him he was surprised to see that he wasn’t the only one who returned to his normal self.  
“Dilan, Aeleus, Even, Ienzo…we’re people again”  
It seemed those who had suffered from Xehanort’s experiments were back to their normal selves…well almost everyone.  
“Where are Braig and Isa? They should be here too” he wondered.  
He didn’t like the gut wrenching feeling his heart was giving him as he thought of those two.  
If they weren’t here then where were they?  
As he looked back at his reflection, he thought of two other individuals that he didn’t see. The ones he promised he would be there for.  
“Where did Ankoku and Tsukiko go?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had to do that scene with Hugo since one of Riku's Dream Eaters is basically a goat lol. And isn't that sweet? Riku wants to walk down the same path as Hikari. If that's not a definition of love I don't know what is lol.
> 
> Axel's back! And of course the first person he thinks of when he wakes up is Tsukiko. I wonder how his girlfriend is going to react knowing that her boyfriend is actually alive? How is Ankoku gonna react to this? Knowing her, she might beat the shit out of him lol.
> 
> Please tell me what you thought of this chapter! 
> 
> Take care!


	6. The Grid: Hikari's side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back with Hikari's side! It seems like crazy stuff always happens on her end lol. She returns to one of the worlds she's been to before but it seems like something has happened to one of her friends while she was gone. Can she save her friend before it's too late? And it seems like a face that she thought that she would never see again makes their return. Just who could it be? 
> 
> Gotta read to find out!

Chapter 6: The Grid- Hikari’s Side

No matter what happens I will always, always love you  
A lot can happen to a person in a year. At least that’s what Tsukiko thought. Who would have thought that the girl from Twilight Town would go from just a simple city girl to one that fell in love with a Nobody when it was claimed that Nobodies couldn’t love, befriend Roxas and Ankoku, finding out that she herself was a Nobody which made the theory of Nobodies not being able to love sound even more ridiculous to being one of the heroes to saved the worlds from darkness.  
Surely she didn’t and yet that’s what happened.  
After Xemnas was defeated and the Organization destroyed, Taiyouko offered to send her back to Twilight Town so she could go back to her normal life.   
There was no going back to normal after everything she saw. Not only that but that world held so many precious memories of a certain redhead she loved deeply. A redhead that no longer existed.  
Twilight Town wasn’t the same without Axel there. She couldn’t watch the sunset without thinking of him, or eat a Sea Salt Ice Cream and not think about sitting up on the Clock Tower eating it with him.   
With a heavy heart, she decided to leave Twilight Town and went to live on the Islands with Hikari and the others. It wasn’t so bad. The island they lived on was nice and quaint while the people were friendly. A stark contract from the bustling world of Twilight Town, but a nice contrast.   
Not only that, Taiyouko was able to give Hikari’s Nobody, Ankoky a heart so she could exist as her own self. Having the stubborn, foul mouthed Nobody was a welcoming distraction. She had a familiar face with her on the islands and Ankoku kept her distracted from thinking about Axel.  
Even after a year, her heart still ached over the loss of her beloved. Not a day went by where she didn’t recall how he sacrificed himself so she would be safe from the Organization. It was a noble sacrifice but a painful one. She made sure he was remembered daily by changing a few things about herself. No more was her hair pulled up in a ponytail. Instead her ravenous locks tumbled down her neck while she styled some of them to flare out a bit to look like her boyfriend’s spikes. Her clothing consisted of warm colors that went on the border of being risqué looking-symbolizing the alluring, tempting way fire tends to do to a person.   
Yes, these little changes didn’t fill the gap in her heart, but they made the pain go away slightly. It tried to mend over time, but she knew deep down it would never be the same. Like all fragile things, all it took was a simple poke to shatter the most delicate of structures.   
The King had sent a letter to the group saying that Xehanort was returning and that Sora, Riku and Hikari needed to see Yen Sid about something. Thinking about that madman made all the memories that she buried within her heart come back to the surface.   
Memories of Taiyouko suffering, of Roxas having to return to Sora, of Axel…..it seemed that Xehanort wouldn’t stop until everyone knew what it was like to feel pain.   
Well, she wasn’t going to let him get that satisfaction. That was why she found herself at Disney Castle with Taiyouko and Queen Minnie. Since King Mickey took Donald and Goofy with him to bring Sora, Riku and Hikari to Yen Sid, he asked the two of them to protect his wife. It was a honor and a good distraction for her not to think about Xehanort.   
Staring out the window that faced the garden, she sighed.  
‘When is this madness gonna end?’ she thought.  
“You ok, there?”  
Turning around, she saw Taiyouko approach her. She had to admit it, the sorceress was one hell of a woman. Not only was she Hikari’s mother, but she was one of the few people who managed to get the upper hand on Xehanort. Not only that, she gave her and Ankoku a heart so they wouldn’t have to suffer the fate that came to Nobodies. Taiyouko was surely one of a kind.  
The sorceress tilted her head as she studied her Nobody.   
“You’re thinking about what’s going on again, aren’t you?”  
Tsukiko snorted as she looked back at the garden.   
“Kinda hard not to when the King sends a letter saying Xehanort might be coming back. It’s like that man is a cockroach. You can never kill him”  
Taiyouko laughed weakly as she joined her Nobody by the window.  
“That’s one way to describe him”  
Tsukiko studied her a bit as well. It was a low blow for Taiyouko to hear that Xehanort was coming back. Out of all of them, she suffered the most at the hands of that man.  
“So how are you holding up? I’m sure this isn’t easy for you either”  
Taiyouko gripped the window ledge tightly to the point where her knuckles turned white.   
“As if there’s an easy way of processing the fact that the man who made me loose everything is coming back. Thanks to him I lost my baby brother and father, he tried to use my daughter who now has to fight him and put one of my dearest friends into a deep….”  
She closed her eyes as she thought of Lumen and how she was nowhere close to saving her.  
“It’s not easy, but I’m trying to will myself into making it so”  
Tsukiko looked ahead, not really paying attention to the scenry.  
“Guess this isn’t easy for any of us…kinda makes you wonder if those three have what it takes to stop Xehanort”  
Taiyouko sighed as she looked at the ground.  
“As their companion and mother figure I wanna say they do…but knowing Xehanort I’m wondering if they can” she admitted.  
“I just don’t know what to believe these days”  
“I believe in them”  
Taiyouko and Tsukiko turned to seen Queen Minnie approach them.  
“I may have not known them for as long as you both have but I believe they can stop him” she said.  
“From what the King has told me and from what I’ve seen, those three will be the ones who will save everyone that has suffered at Xehanort’s hands. We just need to believe in them and support them as best as we can”  
The two women looked at the Queen for a moment before looking at each other. Minnie was right; they had to be strong and show that they were there for Hikari and the others now more than ever. They would have to be the ones who faced him so it was up to them and everyone else to show that they believed in them and would help them no matter what.   
“Queen Minnie is right, those three will be able to handle this” Tsukiko said.  
“They’ve stopped him before twice already, so this should be a walk in the park”  
Taiyouko smiled softly.  
“Yes, you’re right”  
Minnie smiled, glad that she was able to help on the home front. She may not have had a dangerous task like King Mickey, but she would be damned if she didn’t help in some sort of way.  
This was everyone’s fight now.  
“Oh yeah, why did the King send those three to Yen Sid? He never really explained anything only that it was urgent” Tsukiko asked.  
Minnie looked at the ground as she frowned.  
“To be honest I’m not really sure” she said.  
“All I know is that it had something to do with Jiminy’s journals and the message that was in it”   
“Message?” Taiyouko asked.  
Minnie nodded.  
“Yes, apparently there was a hidden note that Jiminy never wrote down. When the King found out and figured out the hidden meaning behind it, he went to Yen Sid claiming it might be a clue to helping someone” she said.  
So many thoughts ran through Taiyouko’s mind as ideas and theories played out. There was only one person she could think of that needed their help more than anyone and she knew this person all too well. Surely this wasn’t a coincidence. She wouldn’t know unless she saw.  
Putting on a fake smile she looked a Minnie sweetly.  
“Is that journal still here by any chance? Perhaps if we looked at it, it might give us a clue on how to help Hikari and the others”  
Minnie nodded as she started walking away.  
“It’s in the King’s study, follow me”  
The two women followed Minnie towards Mickey’s study. Tsukiko looked at Taiyouko with narrowed eyes.   
“What brought this up all of a sudden?” she asked,  
Taiyouko looked serious as she stared ahead.  
“I need to get to the bottom of something”   
When they reached the King’s study, Minnie went over to Mickey’s desk and picked up the journal.  
“Here it is. He found the message near the back of the journal. I don’t know what it means but it seemed important to the King”  
Taiyouko accepted the journal and flipped it towards the last page. The sentence she saw made her spine tingle.  
Her slumbering will cease when you bring her back together.  
Tsukiko peered over to read what the journal said with a raised eyebrow.  
“Who is this ‘she’ that it’s talking about?”  
“Lumen…it’s talking about Lumen” Taiyouko muttered.  
“What are you talking about?” Tsukiko asked.  
Taiyouko ignored her and looked at Minnie urgently.  
“I know who this journal is talking about and from what you told me about the King’s reaction, he does too! I need to speak with the King to see what he knows”  
“Oh? Surely you wouldn’t mind sharing that information with all of us? It would be so rude not to:  
Paling at the sound of a familiar voice, the three turned to see none other than Pete and Maleficent appear out of a dark portal.   
The dark sorceress smiled evilly as Diabo rested on her shoulder.  
“Hello beasties”  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
The next world Hikari arrived to was one that looked very familiar to her. Everything appeared to be digitalized and futuristic. Not only that but her outfit had changed as well to the one she wore when she went into Ansem’s computer.  
“This outfit…I’m in Tron’s world!”  
Looking at everything around her, she noticed that Space Paranoids was a lot different from when she was here last time.   
“Looks like Tron made a few upgrades since last time. Then again, I’m sure he would since he’s in control of Ansem’s computer”   
She noticed a strange looking ship fly over her as it slowly glided through the programed city.   
“Those are new. Wonder if that was part of Tron’s upgrade?”  
Wondering if Tron was on that ship, she quickly followed it. The thought of seeing her programed friend made her happy. She hadn’t seen Tron since she defeated Xemnas and she wanted to let him know how everything was going.   
‘Maybe he still has data on Xehanort from the DTD? That could really help us with the exams’ she thought.   
As soon as she thought of that, she stopped in her tracks. She was supposed to be in the sleeping realms so why was Tron’s world here? She could understand Traverse Town being in the sleeping realm since it was a world stuck within realms, but Tron’s world was a program…a program that was within a computer in one of the worlds residing in the realm of light.  
“Computer based worlds can’t dream…can they?”   
She saw the ship starting to descent up ahead. Now having questions that needed answers, she went after the ship in the hopes that it would provide what she was looking for. When she reached the ship she saw a group of masked guards stepping out and searching the perimeter. That didn’t settle well with Hikari. Why would Tron need to have guards when he was in control of everything?  
The guards spotted her and marched towards her.   
“State your handle, program” they ordered.  
Hikari took a step back, not liking that they were getting close.   
“I’m not a program. I’m a User. My name’s Hikari”   
That seemed to be the wrong answer cause the guards pulled out their weapons and aimed them at her.   
“Strag program recognized. Isolate for quarantine”   
One of them grabbed her by the arm and started to drag her towards the ship.  
“Let go of me!” she cried.  
She quickly whistled and summoned her Dream Eaters to help. Lulu head butted the guard that was holding her while Riki Bat slapped his wings at the other guards head.   
Being free, Hikari jumped on Lulu’s back and rode away from the guards.  
“After her!”  
Hikari simply urged Lule to go faster so the guards wouldn’t catch them. She almost got arrested on the last world she was on, she didn’t want to get arrested on this one as well.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
When they felt like they weren’t being chased anymore, Lule stopped in an open area.  
“Boy that was close” Hikari sighed.  
“Something is very wrong here. It’s like when the MCP tried to take over the whole system…why would Tron let that happen?”  
She had to get to the bottom of this. If Tron was letting things get out of hand then it was obvious he needed help.   
She started walking, knowing that standing around wouldn’t solve anything.  
“Wonder where Tron would be? This place is like a maze with everything looking the-“  
She brought her Keyblade up to her face when she saw a disc come flying towards here. Instead of falling to the ground, it bounced off her blade and zipped back to where it came from.  
A masked guard caught it and went into a fighting stance, showing that they were ready to attack again.  
“Damn, they caught up to me”   
Hikari quickly went into a fighting stance as well and squared off with the guard. If she was going to get arrested again, she was going to put up a fight.   
The guard got a better look at her Keyblade and tilted its head slightly. Looking at the weapon and Hikari for a few more seconds, the guard put the flying disc away and ran off.   
Hikari raised an eyebrow and scratched her neck.  
“Well that was unexpected” she muttered.  
“Hey you there”   
Hearing new voices, Hikari turned to see the characters Quorra, Flynn and Sam approach her. Like her, they were dressed the same way as a User, so it was obvious that they weren’t associated with the masked guards.   
Quorra gestured towards the Keyblade that was still in Hikari’s hand.   
“That weapon, can I see it?” she asked.  
HIkari looked at her Keyblade and shrugged.   
“You mean my Keyblade? I guess”   
She held it up so they could see it better. She didn’t have to worry about them stealing it since it would just go right back to her, so there was no harm in showing it.  
Quorra looked at the weapon in awe and marvel.  
“This is just incredible” she breathed.  
“What a program-the weapon and the wielder”   
Hikari chuckled as she dismissed her Keyblade.   
“Oh, I’m not a program. I’m Hikari, I guess I’m what you would call a User…or at least that’s what Tron called me”  
That caught Flynn’s attention.  
“You know Tron?!”  
“Well…yeah, I guess. He’s one of my friends” Hikari said like it was obvious.  
Flynn sighed wearily. It seemed that their situation was getting messier by the minute.  
“Listen, that program you just saw…that was Tron”  
Hikari felt her blood grow cold. Tron was really here and something was going on with this world.  
“What happened to him?! He wasn’t like this when I last saw him”  
Flynn turned away as he stared off into the distance, reflecting over what happened.  
“Tron used to be a good friend” he said.  
“Together, we created this place, The Grid…but then CLU staged a coup. I was exiled and…Tron wound up getting derezzed…or so I thought”  
He looked back at them looking wearier than before.  
“CLU made him into a new program called Rinzler. That’s the thing about programs. Mess with the code just a little and a memory can change”   
Hikari gripped the fabric of her top tightly. How could this happen to Tron? He had done so much for her and helped turn Radiant Garden back to what it once was. To find out that her friend was being controlled like a puppet broke her heart.  
“Tron” she whispered.   
“I had a feeling something was off about this world…there’s no way Tron would have let things end up like this…”   
She looked at Flynn with a determined look, knowing she had to do something.  
“If there’s a way to help change him back I’m more than willing to help. He’s helped me in the past so now it’s my turn”   
Flynn smiled a little for the first time since meeting Hikari.  
“I think I’m gonna like you, kid” he said.  
He rubbed his chin in thought, wondering if there was a way.  
“If we’re lucky, CLU kept a backup of Tron’s source code. He’s a program after all. He’d be methodical like that”  
“So all we have to do is get this ‘source code’ from CLU and use it to fix Tron?” Hikari asked.  
“That’s the idea” Flynn nodded.  
Hikari nodded in satisfaction.  
“Then that’s all I need to know” she started walking away and tried to form a plan on fixing Tron.  
“Where are you going?” Flynn called out.   
“To find the source code” Hikari said.  
“I take it this CLU program has it so I might as well start with him”  
“Do you even know where he is?”   
Hikari shook her head as she continued to walk.  
“No, but I’m not gonna find him by just standing here”   
Quorra chuckled seeing the baffled look on Flynn’s face.  
“What a strange User. You’re nothing like Sam of Flynn”  
Hikari finally stopped and gave the program a lopsided smile.  
“What can I say? I’m one of a kind”  
Quorra was quiet for a moment before she finally decided on something.  
“Come on, Hikari. I’ll show you the way”  
Flynn and Sam were shocked when they saw her walk towards Hikari.  
“Quorra, we have to keep moving” he insisted.  
“What are you gonna do if Rinzler attacks?” Sam added.  
Quorra stopped when she reached Hikari and looked at her companions.   
“If we’re in a hurry, we need to take care of Rinzler first” she reasoned.  
Hikari nodded and gave the guys a reassuring smile.  
“Don’t worry, we can handle Tron”  
Flynn sighed wearily, knowing he wasn’t going to win this battle.   
“Very well. Do what you can. Maybe you can help Tron”  
With that, he and Sam headed off to continue with their mission.  
Quorra looked at her new User companion with curiosity.   
“It’s just the two of us then. You ready, Hikari?”  
Hikari nodded and pumped her fist.   
“You better believe it”  
Quorra chuckled and started walking again.  
“CLU should be at the helm of his battleship, the Rectifier. We can get there with a Solar Sailor from the underground docks”   
They headed towards the docks, hoping that CLU foolishly did have a backup of Tron’s data on hand.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Meanwhile on the Rectifier, CLU was viewing the data Rinzler had gathered when he encountered Hikari.   
“So this is a Keyblade?”  
He closed the disc and handed it back to Rinzler.  
“Keep an eye on this one. She might be perfect for our little tournament”  
Rinzler nodded and walked away. When he was away from CLU, he activated the data again to see Hikari’s image. The girl looked familiar but he couldn’t recall seeing such a program.   
Even so, seeing her image made him lower his head sadly. He didn’t like the thought of CLU using her for one of his little ‘games’.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Back with Hikari and Quorra, the two girls were able to make it to the underground station. They ran into a couple of CLU’s guards and Nightmare’s, but they were easily taken care of.   
They were able to get on one of the Solar Sailors without any trouble and had it take them to CLU’s ship.   
Hikari flopped down on one of the seats and ran a hand through her hair.   
“I hope we can find Tron’s source code fast. I don’t like the idea of him being used like this”   
Quorra looked at her with innocent curiosity.  
“Why do you want to help him so badly?” she asked.  
Hikari looked at her dumbfounded, wondering why she would ask such a silly question.  
“He’s my friend. Why wouldn’t I help him?” she said obviously.  
“But he’s a program. He’s not a user like you” Quorra pointed out.   
“Why would that matter? Friends are friends no matter who or what you are. User, Program, duck, dog, mouse, as long as you share a bond with one another that’s all that matters. Tron helped me out in the past and now it’s my turn to help him. That’s just what friends do”  
She looked at her lap somberly as she thought of something.  
‘If I can’t help a friend that I know then how can I help Lumen and her friends?’ she thought.   
Quorra chuckled quietly.  
“You really are a fascinating User”   
She looked up and saw they made it to CLU’s battleship.   
“We’re here”   
They quickly got off the ship and headed inside CLU’s ship.  
“Hang on, Tron. I’m gonna fix this”  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Sneaking onto the main bridge, the girl’s searched high and low for Tron’s source code. After a while, Quorra sighed in frustration.  
“It’s not here. CLU must have it with him”   
Hikari groaned in frustration.  
“I shouldn’t be surprised. With something that important, there’s no way he would leave it just laying around”   
“Maybe we should try somewhere else?” Quorra suggested.  
“Might as well. It’s not here so there’s no point staying here”   
They headed for the door, only for it to open on itself. Standing before them was Tron or as he was now known, Rinzler.   
Quorra pulled out her disc and went into a fighting stance. Hikari held up her hand, signaling her to stop.   
“Let me try talking to him”  
She slowly approached Tron and offered him a soft smile.  
“Tron…do you know who I am?” she asked.  
“It’s me, Hikari. Sora, Donald, Goofy and I helped you get rid of the MCP and put Ansem’s computer back to normal. You helped turn Rardiant Garden back to what it once was. Don’t you remember?”  
Tron was quiet as he stood motionless. Then just like a switch, he quickly pulled out his disc and threw it at her. Quorra got in front of her and blocked the disc with her own.  
“I don’t think that’s the Tron you know anymore”  
She lunged for the Tron and the two of them started to fight. Hikari watched helplessly as Quorra tried to get the upper hand of the fight but was failing horribly. It got to the point where Tron knocked her out and threw her over his shoulder. Hikari panicked and ran for them as Tron started to leave.  
“Tron, no!”  
The last thing she saw before the doors closed was Tron staring at her over his shoulder.  
Hikari weakly slammed her fists against t he doors as she pressed her head against its cool surface.  
“Tron…why?” she whispered.  
“That’s what we do”  
Hikari whipped around to see the mysterious figure step out through a dark portal.  
“Put the most precious memories in the back of our minds where they stay safe. Or in your case, the most precious…hearts?”  
Hikari scowled and gave him an annoyed look. She didn’t have time to deal with this now.  
“Are you seriously going to follow me to every world I go? If you’re gonna talk about my heart being a prison or something alone those lines, I don’t have time to hear about your stupid riddles”  
“Oh, come now, Hikari” a new voice said.  
Xemnas stepped out of the portal with an oily smile on his face.  
“Surely your mother and I taught you to have better manners than that?”   
Hikari took a step back as she gripped the door behind her. Why was Xemnas here? How was he here? He was defeated when Sora, Riku and herself fought him in the World that Never Was…or at least that’s what she thought happened.  
“Xemnas..you…but I thought….”  
Xemnas chuckled, clearly enjoying seeing her so shaken up.  
“Try to piece a few memories together” he taunted.  
“Rub a few memories together and you get a spark of emotion, a feeling. But in a digital world, memory does not work like that. Nothing is felt. You can hold a thousand, a million times the information, but there is still no heart with which to parse it. Once your grandfather, Ansem the Wise, found an old system and made a copy of it’s Master Control Program…and used it to serve his own ends. This is the original data of that system. Here, data can be copied. Memory can be changed and easily manipulated. Tron is a digital entity, so why would he be any different? He obeys the rules of this-OOF!”  
He was cut short when Lulu headbutted him in the gut, causing him to grab his stomach. The Pegaslick appeared to be on edge as she dug her hooves into the ground and snorted loudly. She stood in front of Hikari, making sure she was covered so Xemnas wouldn’t touch her.  
“Apparently my Dream Eaters think you talk too much” Hikari said dryly.   
She looked at the Nobody who pretended to be her father when she was a child with such disgust. She knew he was trying to play one of his mind games on her and she wasn’t falling for it.   
“You’re wrong about Tron, though” she said.  
“He may be a program but he’s more than just something made of ones and zeros. No one programed him to help Sora and I destroy the MCP. No one told him he had to help us. That was all him. He may not have an actual heart like I do, but he sure does act like he has one”  
“If he acts on his own, then how was he turned into someone’s puppet?” Xemnas asked.  
He turned to the portal and headed towards it.   
“Remember, Hikari. Just because you were destined to save lost souls doesn’t mean you can save ALL of them”  
With those parting words he left, leaving Hikari alone with the mysterious figure. He gave off this chilling vibe about him and always seemed to wan to talk in riddles.  
“Let me guess? You’re gonna go on about my heart being a prison and I should set it free? Or are you gonna talk about making dreams and nightmares come true?” Hikari asked dully.  
The mysterious figure walked past her as he stared out the ship’s window.  
“You think this is the realm of dreams, but there, you are mistaken” he said cryptically.   
“Data does not dream, cannot dream. This world is real. You haven’t the slightest idea where you are-that you have already wandered off the path”   
Hikari narrowed her eyes.  
“And I take it you’re here to bring me back to the main road so I won’t get lost again?”  
The mysterious figure chuckled, making Hikari’s skin crawl.  
“You could say that”   
He opened up a portal behind him and held his hand out to her.  
“Would you like me to hold your hand to make sure you don’t get lost again?”  
Lulu pushed Hikari back, still acting as a shield. Hikari stood her ground as she glared at the mysterious figure.  
“I think I’m more that capable of finding my way back. Besides, taking a couple detours never harms anyone”  
“Suit yourself” the mysterious figure said as he dropped his hand.   
“Just make sure you don’t get too lost that it’ll be impossible to find you. You wouldn’t want to worry your friends”  
Hikari watched as he walked towards the portal.  
“You’re wrong about Tron, by the way” she called out.  
The mysterious figure stopped and looked at her over his shoulder.  
“You’re completely wrong about him” she repeated.  
“True, someone made him and had him programmed to act a certain way, but everything else about him was created by him. No one programmed him to help me when I needed it, no one programmed him to decide to restore my grandpa’s computer and most importantly no one programmed him on how to make friends and form unbreakable bonds. His heart may not be like mine but it functions like any other heart. You just can’t see it”  
The mysterious figure was quiet. Instead of making a whitty remark, he simply went through the portal and closed it behind him.   
“There’s something about that boy” she said to herself.  
She felt the ship jolt before it went up in the air.   
“Oh, that’s not good”   
Rushing to one of the windows, she saw the ship leaving the docks. Knowing there was no way to leave a moving ship, Hikari decided to see where her next destination would take her.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The next destination turned out to be a battle arena where she was smack dab in the middle of the stage. The whole area was filled with cheers as programs sat around the arena, waiting for the next event that was to unfold.   
‘This is not gonna end well, I just know it’ Hikari thought.  
To prove her point, CLU and Rinzler appeared on the stage. CLU wore a smug smirk as he looked at her.  
“Greetings, Hikari. I’ve been waiting for you”  
Hikari could already tell that she wasn’t going to like him just by the way he spoke.  
“Who are you?”   
“I am CLU”   
Now she knew why she didn’t like him. He was the one who changed Tron.  
“So you’re the one who turned Tron into Rinzler!”  
CLU nodded.  
“Correct. I had to repurpose his code”   
“Well un-purpose it! Tron was fine just the way he was!”  
CLU just shrugged, showing he didn’t care.  
“I’m willing to under the right parameters”   
He gestured to her Keyblade that was firmly gripped in her hand.  
“You have a little item called a Keyblade. It can open any lock, isn’t that right? Hand it over, and I’ll change Rinzler back into Tron”  
Hikari looked down at her Keyblade. Would giving it up really save her friend? Gripping her keyblade tightly, she shook her head. CLU would never turn Rinzler back into Tron. He would just use the Keyblade to cause more harm.   
If anyone could save Tron and bring him back, it was going to be her.  
“You’re not getting the Keyblade” she declared.  
“This is what lights the darkness. It’s a beacon of hope for those who are lost and afraid”  
“Ha! Flawed reasoning” CLU scoffed.  
“Very well, I’ll just take it by force”   
He left the arena, leaving Hikari and Tron alone. Tron wasted no time and started attacking Hikari head on. Hikari dodged his attacks and moved around the arena to keep away. She didn’t want to fight her friend but she knew Tron wasn’t thinking the same.  
“Tron! Snap out of it! Please!”  
Tron simply continued to attack, not caring that he was trying to hurt his friend.  
“What am I going to do?” Hikari said wearily.  
“Fight Hikari!”  
Quorra ran to the edge of the stadium.  
“You can do it!”  
“Quorra! You’re alright!”  
Quorra smiled as she nodded.  
“I am thanks to you. Tron heard you. Long enough for me to escape. He’s still in there. You can do it, you can get through to him! You have to fight him!”  
“But how can I-“  
Quorra smiled gently.  
“He’s your friend, right? You’ll know how to save him. Just help him remember”  
Hikari was quiet for a moment but nodded. Quorra was right. She was Tron’s friend. If anyone could bring him back, it would be her.  
“Hang on, Tron. I’m going to save you”  
She gave Lulu and Riku Bat a serious stare.  
“You two stay out of this one. This is something I need to do alone”  
Tunring to Tron, she summoned her Keyblade again and went into a fighting stance.  
“Alright, Tron. Let’s rumble”  
The two clashed as they charged at each other. If talking to Tron wasn’t working then Hikari had to force him to remember. The two kept exchanging blows as Hikari tried to find a way to make Tron remember. When they jumped back, she tried to figure out what would make her friend remember.  
‘Come on, think! Talking isn’t working and hitting him in the head might make things worse. Come on, Hikari, you promised him you would help him’ she thought.   
That’s when it came to her.  
Promise.  
After they defeated the MCP, both she and Sora explained the concept of a hug to Tron and what it meant. How it acted as a promise between friends.  
Dismissing her Keyblade she ran for Tron, hoping her idea would work. Surely he wouldn’t have forgotten such an important promise?   
When she reached him, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. Tron froze in place. His programing was telling him to attack but his body refused to move. As if it was telling him to listen.  
“Don’t you remember what Sora and I said?” Hikari said softly.  
“This isn’t what friends do when they’re sorry to say goodbye…it’s a promise that they’ll see each other again soon”  
Tears fell from her eyes as she squeezed Tron tightly.  
“I know you’re in there, Tron! Try to remember, please!”  
Tron didn’t move or say anything. He simply stood still. Hikari was beginning to think that maybe Tron really was gone when very slowly arms wrapped around her and pulled her into the hug.   
“Hikari…thank you”  
Hikar let out a little laugh as she smiled. She finally got to him. She finally made Tron remember.   
CLU appeared on the stage looked enraged. He was not expecting some little User to turn Tron back to the way he was. Seeing as how his puppet was defected, he decided to take matters into his own hands.  
“Wretched little User” he spat.  
He pulled a disc from his back and flung it at Hikari. Tron saw the disc and quickly pushed Hikari out of the way, blocking the disc with his own. It bounced all over the walls before slamming into the glass floor beneath Tron’s feet.   
Hikari watched in horror as she saw her friend fall through the floor.  
“Tron!”  
She dove for him and grabbed his hand before it was too late.   
“Don’t worry, Tron. I’ve got you!”  
She tried to pull him up but his weight was slowly pulling her down. Tron looked beneath him, seeing nothing but endless darkness then back at Hikari. Using his other hand, he placed it over hers and gave it a squeeze.  
“Hikari…thank you for keeping your promise”  
He ripped his hands from her and let himself fall.  
“NO!”  
As he fell, he gave Hikari a thumbs up. It was as if he was trying to tell her he was going to be just fine. CLU scolwed in disgust as he retrieved his disc.   
“I’ll deal with you later. I have to retrieve Rinzler”  
He left, knowing Hikari was no use to him.  
Quorra slowly approached Hikari when CLU left. Hikari simply stared at the spot Tron fell, almost as if she was trying to spot him.  
“He finally remembered…Tron is still there” she said.  
“And thanks to you, he’s not gonna let CLU mess with his data anytime soon” Quorra said.  
“You actually did it. You were able to save your friend”  
Hikari smiled weakly. She didn’t feel like she saved Tron, but if he was finally free from CLU then maybe that would count as being saved.  
“I suppose I did”   
She turned to Quorra and gave her a grateful smile.   
“And you helped too. If you hadn’t said those things, I wouldn’t have been able to help Tron”  
Quorra tilted her head in thought.  
“So, does that mean we’re friends?”  
Hikari nodded as she laughed.  
“Of course! Like I said, it doesn’t matter who or what you are, as long as you have a bond, you’re friends”  
Quorra smiled wistfully. Who would have thought Users and Programs could be friends?   
“I have to go. I need to let Sam and Flynn know Rinzler won’t give us anymore problems”  
Hikari nodded in understanding.  
“Be careful, Quorra. Don’t let CLU destroy what Tron fought to protect”  
Quorra left which gave Hikari time to ponder over what happened. Tron may have been a program and didn’t think or acted like a User, but he still suffered like one.   
Xemnas and the mysterious figure were wrong. This world may have been a program but still acted like the others. It lived and breathed like the other worlds, and it felt pain when someone tried to hurt it. Just because it functioned differently didn’t mean it didn’t know what suffering was. That’s why they never knew Tron was hurting and needed help. Yes, he was a program, but Hikari knew he felt pain like a User.  
‘That’s why I was able to save him…because I didn’t see him as an object’   
She started walking away. There was nothing more she could do here. She knew Tron wasn’t going to let CLU take over this world now that he remembered. This world would be safe in his hands.  
“I guess Tron did make me realize something about this exam” she said to herself.   
“It’s not just people who need help…everyone and everything needs to be saved. As long as they can think and know that they’re hurting, they need to be saved. Human or not, I promise I’ll always be there to save them”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tsukiko is back! It seems things aren't going well on her and Taiyouko's end. And it seems like Taiyouko might have to tell her companions about her connection to Lumen...that is if they can get away from Maleficent. Xemnas is back and he's still pulling the dad card on Hikari. Why is he still doing that when he knows that Hikari knows the truth? And of course Hikari saved Tron! I was disappointed they really didn't do a lot on Sora's end in the game. He could have tried harder to help his friend to remember. But this gave me a chance to let Hikari shine. 
> 
> Hope you liked this chapter! Please tell me what you think!


	7. The Grid: Riku's side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku enters the Grid, seeing that this world is very strange for one that is sleeping.

Chapter 7: The Grid: Riku’s Side

Riku noticed right off the bat that this world was very vert different from the previous ones he had been on. The dead giveaway was of course everything looking technological and futuristic, but the other aspect was that his outfit changed completely.   
“What is this place?” he wondered.  
He had never seen a world like this before. It almost seemed strange that a techno world would even be sleeping. But never the less, he had to have come here for a reason, so it was best to see why.   
He didn’t get far when he noticed a ship descent before him.  
“Well, this should be interesting”  
A few masked guards spilled out of the ship and approached him, using a strange disc to scan him for something. Not liking what they found, they grabbed him by the arms and started taking him towards the ship.  
“Another stray. Take him for quarantine”  
Riku yanked himself away from the guards but didn’t run away. He really didn’t know what was going on, but he knew it would have been a stupid idea to run away from the armed guards. So, with no other choice, he went towards the ship. When he boarded he was surprised to see another person on board as well.   
Sam, Flynn’s son looked at Riku as the ship took off.  
“Are you a prisoner?” he asked.  
Riku just shrugged.  
“It looks that way”   
Sam gave him a weak grin.  
“I’m Sam”  
“I’m Riku. Where are we, Sam?” Riku asked.  
“We’re on the Grid” was all Sam said.  
Riku just started out the window of the ship as it passed through the digital city. He didn’t know what was going on, but he had a feeling it was going to be anything but boring.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Instead of taking Riku to a prison, the guards dropped him off in the middle of a race track. Everywhere around him, programs were cheering, getting excited for what was about to unfold.   
CLU and Rinzler appeared on the track and walked towards Riku. He could tell right away that whoever these two were, they were not gonna be on his side or help him out.  
CLU wore a fake proud smirk as he offered Riku and strange looking stick.  
“You’re in luck. Only a precious few are granted Light Cycle battle privileges”  
Riku gingerly took the stick from CLU and examined it.  
“You gonna explain why it’s so lucky?”  
CLU just chuckled as he gestured behind Riku.  
“I’ll show you”  
No sooner had he said that, a few Light Cycles zipped past them. The vehicles kept crashing into each other, hoping to knock their opponent off the track. When one of them went flying, the crowd would go wild and cheer.   
Riku slowly started to realize what kind of match this was and didn’t like where this was going. It seemed on this world, instead of arresting and throwing prisoners in jail, they just made them fight other prisoners to the death. How charming.   
Looking at the device in his hand, he realized if he wanted to get out of here alive, he would have to fight his way out of the arena.   
“This shouldn’t be too hard…right?”  
Activating his Light Cycle, he quickly took off and joined in the race. He focused on trying to get ahead of the other racers, so he wouldn’t have to worry about getting hit. Whenever another racer tried to get close and cut him off, Sunny would appear and knocked them out of the way with her horns.   
The race went on for a little while more until it was only Riku left on the track. Knowing that CLU wasn’t going to let him go, he quickly took matters into his own hands.  
“I think I’ve had enough entertainment for one day”  
Driving his Light Cycle off the track, he aimed the blasters at the nearest wall and fired at it, creating a hole. With a new route, Riku drove through the opening and got as far away from the arena as he could.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Hiding within the city, Riku jumped off the Light Cycle and decided where he should go. If he got caught again he had a feeling CLU would make him do something worse than Light Cycle racing. He needed to figure out why he was on this world and make sure he didn’t get caught at the same time.  
Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one who managed to escape because he found Sam.  
“Riku! You managed to escape!”  
He quickly ran up to him.  
“Listen, I know a way off the Grid. Wanna come with?”  
Riku shook head. He had a task he needed to do here for the exams, so he needed to stay put.  
“No, you go on ahead” he said.  
Sam shrugged and started to walk away. However, as he did so, Riku processed what Sam told him. What did he mean ‘a way off’? Did he mean get off this world or something else?  
“Wait, what do you mean a way out?” he said as he went after Sam.  
Sam stopped and rubbed the back of his neck.  
“Through the portal” he said vaguely.  
“You’re gonna have to be a little more specific than that. What do you mean by a portal?” Riku asked.  
“It’s this gate that opened up when I came here” Sam explained.  
“Once I’m back in the real world I can delete CLU. And then…then my dad will be able to come home”  
“Your dad?” Riku asked. It seemed instead of getting more answers, Sam was just giving him more things to question and ponder over.  
“He vanished twenty years ago when he came here to the Grid” Sam explained.  
“But because he needed to protect his disc from CLU, he went into hiding. He’s been trapped here ever since. But I’m gonna change that”  
“I see…” Riku said.  
It seemed the more he was on this world, the more confusing it was. People being trapped within a world, making them fight to the death as punishment, learning there was a possibility of a way to get out of this world while it was sleeping? There had to be more that was going on.   
Knowing he just couldn’t walk away from this, Riku decided he needed to get to the bottom of this.  
“You mind if I go with you after all? I wanna see what this portal is”  
Sam shrugged, showing he didn’t mind.  
“Sure. I’ll take what help I can get. But first, there’s somebody I need to meet. He’s in the city”  
With that the two of them headed deeper into the city, hoping to find out just what was going on with this world and why it acted so strangely.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
When they made it further into the city, Sam looked at Riku.  
“Kill some time till I get back”  
He left, leaving Riku to himself. He really didn’t care though. This was the perfect chance to process his thoughts about the exam and what had happened since it started.   
Obviously, he knew something was off. It was a no brainer that this exam was going to be hard, but the fact that this Mysterious Figure and Ansem had showed up raised some red flags. Why were they here? Or better yet, how did they get here? These worlds were supposed to be trapped within the sleeping realm so how were they able to get here?  
Not only that but this world seemed to have a way of getting out to the outside world. Sleeping worlds shouldn’t be able to do that, right? If they could then they wouldn’t be sleeping.  
‘Unless…this world isn’t really trapped within a dream’ Riku thought.  
He didn’t have time to break apart this world’s logic since he heard a commotion up ahead.   
Knowing that was where Sam ran off to he quickly headed towards that direction, hoping that CLU or the Nightmares hadn’t gotten to him.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
He was relieved to see Sam was ok, but he was puzzled as well to see two other individuals with him. Sam was holding an unconscious Quorra while Flynn tried to see what was wrong with her.   
“Sam, what’s going on?” Riku said.  
Flynn looked confused when he saw him.  
“Who’s this?”  
“I’m Riku. Sam and I were on our way to the portal”   
Flynn seemed weary of adding a stranger to their group, but he knew there wasn’t time to argue about it.   
“Very well, come with us”   
“Were exactly are we going anyway?” Sam asked.  
“The Portal” Flynn said. “But we need a Solar Sailer. There’s one in the underground docks”  
They quickly rushed to the docks knowing that time wasn’t on their side.   
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
They were able to make it to the docks without being seen and quickly got on one of the Sailers. When they took off, Flynn went about trying to fix Quorra while Same watched.  
Riku only heard bits and pieces of their conversation about Quorra and CLU. It seemed in his foolish attempt to make something perfect, Flynn created CLU whose only purpose was to find perfection and destroy anything that wasn’t.   
As he looked at Sam and Flynn he couldn’t help but see Taiyouko and Diz. Like Flynn and Sam, they shared a very strained parent/child relationship. Diz was focused on finding the purpose of the heart and its mysteries, only to push his daughter aside feeling that her presence didn’t contribute to his goal. And much like Flynn, Diz would have his own version of CLU-an apprentice named Xehanort. And similar to CLU’s nature, Xehanort would destroy anything that didn’t relate to his quest for finding the secrets of the heart or restoring Kingdom Hearts.   
It hurt to think that if either Flynn or Diz would have been more accepting of their children and not focused on their goals, then none of this would have happened.  
‘If Diz had just been more accepting of Taiyouko, then maybe Xehanort wouldn’t have tricked her into loving him and used her as his puppet’ he thought.   
‘But then…if none of that happened…I probably wouldn’t have met Hikari…my future might have been very different’  
Despite their easy start, their ride was about to take an ugly turn. CLU’s ship managed to catch up to them and was on their tail. The ship jolted as CLU’s ship connected to theirs.  
“We’ve been put on a new course” Flynn said bitterly.  
There was nothing they could do as their ship was being forced to a nearby dock.   
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
They all hid as CLU’s guards searched the ship. The program knew Flynn was on the move and he was not going to let the User get to the portal before he did.   
“What are we going to do? We can’t leave without being seen and if we fight them, its gonna alert CLU that we’re here” Riku said.  
Quorra was quiet as she thought of something before she didn’t something crazy. Removing her disc, she gave it to Flynn before running off, alerting the guards.   
“She’s removing herself from the equation” Flynn realized.  
Sam watched sadly as he saw the guards take Quorra away.   
“We can’t just let her go”   
He went to go after her, but Flynn held him back.   
“Wait, Sam. What about getting you to the portal? You have to shut them down from outside”  
“But Quorra comes first!” Sam insisted.  
“And we still have to get back your disc”  
Flynn just shook his head.  
“Sam, if you chase two rabbits, you won’t catch either”  
Riku stood awkwardly as he watched the two bickered.  
‘Yeah they certainly remind me of Taiyouko and Diz’  
Feeling that he was the only reasonable person here, he decided to speak up.  
“If this is a father-son thing, I won’t butt in, but we should probably get back that disc before CLU uses it. Just saying”  
Knowing Riku had a point, Sam reluctantly agreed.   
“You’re right.”   
He looked at his dad.  
“Meet us on the flight deck. We’ll get the disc back”  
Both he and Riku then headed off.  
“Riku, I gotta save Quorra too” Sam pleaded.  
“I know. We’ll find her, don’t worry” Riku said.  
“Now where would CLU keep your dad’s disc?”  
“It should be somewhere on CLU’s ship. I saw it dock here earlier”  
They headed for CLU’s ship, hoping that the disc was still there.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
After much sneaking around and avoiding the guards, the two of them made it into CLU’s quarters of the ship.   
Sure, enough Sam spotted his father’s disc near the center of the room and went for it. However, CLU wasn’t programmed to be an idiot. The moment Sam removed the disc an alarm went off, signaling the guards they were there.  
The guards that had captured Quorra appeared. The young program looked worried that her companions were caught.  
“Sam! Riku! Go!”  
“Not without you, we’re not” Sam said.  
Riku tried to figure out how to get them out of this situation. If they tried to attack, then the guards would harm Quorra, but if they stalled it would alert CLU that they were here.   
He noticed the door leading out of the room was still open. If he could knock the guards out without them noticing, they might have a chance of getting out of here. Summoning Sunny and Hika, he had the two Dream Eaters appear outside the door-right behind the guard’s backs. Giving off a shrill whistle, he let his companions know where he was and hoped they would know what he wanted them to do. Sure, enough the Dream Eaters spotted him and bolted towards him. They slammed into the guards, knocking them out of the way and freeing Quorra in the process.  
Quorra made quick work of knocking the guards out before turning to her friends.   
“What are you doing here?”   
“No time to explain. We gotta make it to the fight deck” Sam said.  
“But CLU will be here any minute. We’ll never make it” Quorra said.  
Hika nudged Riku’s arm to get his attention. The Pegaslick motioned towards the window at the front of the ship, which showed the hanger bay that they were in.   
Riku caught on to what his Dream Eater was showing and quickly jumped on her back.  
“Get on, I have an idea”  
Sam and Quorra didn’t know what Riku was planning but they felt it was better than standing around waiting for CLU to show up. Jumping on Hika’s back, they watched as Riku aimed his Keyblade at the windows and shattered it with his magic. Hikari jumped through the opening and flew towards the flight deck where Flynn was waiting for them.  
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Flynn had a ship waiting for them when they arrived. Wasting no time, they hoped on and flew off towards the portal.   
“We only have an hour left before the portal closes up on us, so we need to hurry” Flynn said.   
They pushed the ship to go as fast as it could to get to the portal before time ran out.   
With time against them, they finally managed to make it to the portal. They quickly ran up the steps, hoping they were finally home free, however when they made it to the last step, all their hope washed away.   
Standing between them and the portal was CLU and he was anything but happy. Quorra went to go attack him, but Flynn held an arm up to stop her.  
“I’ll handle this” he said.  
He walked towards CLU, hoping to keep him distracted from going near the portal.  
“Had a feeling you’d be here” he said with a weak smile.  
CLU shook with anger and jabbed a finger at his direction.  
“You! You promised that we would change the world…together!” he cried.  
“You broke your promise! I took the system to its maximum potential. And now, you see the applications at my disposal!”  
He snapped his fingers and summoned the Commantis from earlier. It stood in front of the portal, making sure that if any of them tried to reach for it, the Nightmare would keep them away.  
“Impossible” Flynn breathed.  
Riku stepped forward, summoning his Keyblade. Now that he wasn’t on a Light Cycle, he had a better chance of defeating the Commantis.   
“You can leave this one to me”  
He wasted no time in attacking. He knew they were running out of time and that if he didn’t get rid of this Nightmare the portal would be closed for good and CLU would cause more havoc to the Grid. He made sure to lure the Commantis away from the portal, so it wouldn’t get damaged while they fought.   
Riku wished that he had better knowledge of how programming worked otherwise he could have fried the Commantis. But he did know that anything computer based had a very simple but very powerful weakness: water. If he was able to drench the Commantis, the Nightmare would destroy itself on its own.   
Jumping on Hika he flew around the Nightmare and lured it further away from the portal, so it wouldn’t get damaged with what Riku was about to do next.  
“Waterga!”  
The Commantis was completely drenched as water poured out of Riku’s Keyblade. Sure enough, the Nightmare short-circuited and disintegrated into particles.   
With the Commantis gone, CLU was left alone with Flynn, Sam, Quorra and Riku against him.  
“I created the perfect system!” he insisted.  
Flynn shook his head sadly.  
“The thing about perfection is that it’s unknowable. It’s impossible, but it’s also….”  
He looked at his son.  
“Right in front of us, all the time. You wouldn’t know that because I didn’t when I created you. I’m sorry, CLU. I’m sorry”  
CLU yelled out in anger and kicked Flynn out of the way. He ran for the portal hoping to get to it before it closed but Sam, Quorra and Riku stood in his way, keeping him back.  
“CLU! Remember what you came for” Flynn called out.   
He held up his disc showing he had it. CLU ran back to Flynn, never realizing that was what Flynn wanted. As CLU was running towards him, Flynn deactivated the bridge that connected to the portal, making sure CLU wouldn’t be able to reach it again. CLU snatched the disc from Flynn and activated it but was horrified to see that it wasn’t Flynn’s disc, but rather Quorra’s.  
When he saw the disc that was attached to the program, he realized that Flynn switched the disc on purpose.  
“No…”  
He looked at Flynn desperately.  
“No…why?”  
Flynn just smiled weakly.  
“He’s my son” was all he said.  
CLU punched Flynn in the face then ran for the portal.   
“Dad!” Sam cried.  
Flynn groaned as he rubbed his face.  
“Sam! Its time!”   
Sam shook his head desperately. Flynn was on the other side of the bridge. At this rate there wouldn’t be any time for him to reach them on the other side by the portal.  
“No, not without you!”   
“Sam, it’s what he wants” Quorra said softly.  
Sam tried to run back towards the other end of the bridge but Quorra held him back.  
“I’m not leaving you!”  
Flynn smiled weakly.   
“Take her, Sam. It’s the only way to fix this”  
Quorra took out Flynn’s disc and handed it to Sam. Biting his lip, Sam reluctantly took it and brought it towards the portal to activate it.   
A tear slid down Flynn’s cheek as he watched his son step on the portal.  
“Good-bye, kiddo” he said quietly.  
CLU was able to get to the other end of the bridge and ran for the portal before Sam and Quorra could escape.   
Riku jumped in front of him and aimed his Keyblade at him, keeping him away from Sam and Quorra.  
“Don’t even think about it!”   
Using the last of his powers in this world, Flynn summoned CLU back towards him. As the program connected with him, both disappeared. Thanks to Flynn’s noble sacrifice, Sam and Quorra were able to escape into the portal before it closed for good.  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
With the threat finally gone, Riku slowly approached the deactivated portal.  
“Looks like the portal is gone” he said.  
It was sad that Flynn couldn’t escape with Sam, but he did what any good father would have done and made sure his child was able to get away safe. He hoped that Sam was able to fix things on the other side for his father’s sake.   
“These gates that connect worlds-maybe when we pass through them, we’re challenged and changed” he thought.   
“And it’s not over. There are more trials ahead I have to overcome. But I’ll be ready for them”  
He thought back to what Flynn said to CLU before he disappeared.  
“Perfection is impossible…but it’s also right in front of us”   
He had wished that Diz could have heard these words. If only he realized that you couldn’t study how a heart works but rather could only feel it, then maybe he would have had a better relationship with Taiyouko. If only he had loved his daughter more, then he would have found the answers that he was looking for.   
And maybe through that, Xehanort would have found what he was looking for too.  
He smiled sadly knowing he couldn’t change the past but simply learn from it.  
“I hope I’ll never be like that with our kids” he said to himself.  
He clutched Hikari’s necklace and gave it a small squeeze.  
“But then again, I have a feeling you would make sure that would never happen…right Hikari?”   
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
Back on Radiant Garden, Lea re-entered Ansem’s study after scouting the area for Isa and the others.  
“Where are they? I’ve turned this castle upside down” he said to himself.  
He saw Ienzo and Aeleus tidying up the study, trying to get it back in order and searching for clues.  
“Hey, are the other two still out cold?”  
Aeleus nodded as he scanned the bookshelves.  
“Dilan and Even are conscious again, but still unstable…they’re resting inside”  
Lea nodded in understanding.  
“Gotcha. Well, I guess I’ll give the castle grounds a sweep”  
“Don’t” Ienzo said.  
“If they were back, we would have found them by now. And we don’t need the unwanted attention of the town residents at this moment”  
“In translation: you don’t want your nephew, Leon to know that you’re back which would result in your sister knowing and you’re not ready to face her after everything that’s happened, am I correct?” Lea clarified.  
When Ienzo didn’t say anything he knew he hit the nail on the head.  
Sighing, he walked around the study, trying to find a clue of some sort that would lead him to finding their companions as well as Tsukiko and Ankoku.  
“So do ya think they were blasted off to some other world, or what?”  
“I highly doubt it” Ienzo said.  
“When someone who’s lost their heart is recompleted, they should return to the place where it happned. And if that world is unavalible for whatever reason, a refuge is made for them in the realm between-a world called Traverse Town. They would be sent there, or perhaps-“  
Lea quickly cut him off, not wanting a long explination.  
“No, look, okay-the fact is- we’re here. We’ve been recompleted, right? So they should be here too-plain and simple”  
“I agree, it is strange” Ienzo agreed.  
Lea sighed in frustration as he looked at the wall containing Ansem’s formula for the world of darkness.  
“What a drag. Could they have not been recompleted?”  
Ienzo shrugged as he thought of a theory.  
“Well, you see-“  
“Ah! Forget it” Lea said as he studied the formula more. An idea came to him mind as he read the inscription for ‘Door to Darkness’. He was starting to piece together where Isa and Braig were.  
“You know what? I’ll bring them back myself”  
Ienzo looked at him skeptically, wondering if he had lost his mind.  
“How exactly?”  
Lea paid him no mind as he wore his usual smirk.  
“I always get stuck with the icky jobs”  
He spun on his heel and walked out of the lab with purpose.   
He knew where to find Isa and Briag now, but there was one other person that was more important now that he needed to find.  
“Hang on, Tsukiko. I’m coming for you”  
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  
A/N: Awwww, Riku is already thinking about having kids with Hikari. Wonder what else he’s thinking about.  
Sorry if this chapter was a little on the sloppy side. Like I said before this was my least favorite world from the game and since I didn’t see the movie it was super tricky to think it out.   
Seems like Taiyouko and Ansem the Wise aren’t the only ones with a rocky parent-child relationship. If only Ansem had been a better parent to his daughter, then his family wouldn’t have been dragged into this mess with Xehanort.  
And it seems Lea is off to find Tsukiko! Gah, I can’t wait to write their reunion out!  
Please review and tell me what you think!  
Take care!


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